The Pharaoh
by the7joker7
Summary: A young Atemu seems to struggle understanding his future role in the world as Pharaoh of a mighty Egyptian empire. What happens when other powerful men view see this weakness as an opportunity? Noncanon, 'The Godfather'-ish.
1. Favor Day

The Pharoah

A young Atemu seems to struggle understanding his future role in the world as Pharoah of a mighty Egyptian empire. What happens when other powerful men view see this weakness as an opportunity? Noncanon, 'The Godfather'-ish.

""""

Alright, been awhile since I've been around the Yugioh fics, so...here I go, wish me luck. Obviously, while the general idea may be the same, the details of the plot in this fic do not match up with canon, but it's not impossible to imagine, I suppose...anyway, just go with it.

""""

Chapter One: Favor Day

"You know what happened today?" Seto asked, seated on a delicately carved wooden chair, his elbows propped up on the reading table in front of him, looking straight ahead at his companion opposite him. He was looking down at a large book, open on the table, staring at the lines of black text on white paper, but looked unfocused. As if he was not actually reading anything at all.

"I took a walk in the gardens." Atemu responded quickly.

"...well, no-" Seto began, but was quickly cut off by the prince.

"No, that...that definitely happened today. I most certainly recall taking a walk in the gardens today." He nodded shortly, still looking at the book with unfocused eyes. "Yes, most certainly."

Seto pursed his lips. "Okay. Fine. That happened, but...you know what else happened?"

"I ate a roasted pig for lunch." Atemu replied again.

"No...no, ermm..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose with the index finger of his left hand. "Okay, okay. You know what happened today, the happening of which did not happen to you, nor anyone around you, nor was it anything you could have known about."

"If this happening did not happen to me, nor anyone around me, nor was it anything I could have known about..." he slowly looked up at Seto. "...I wonder why you are asking me if I know."

Seto took a large, heaving breath. "_Anyway._ Today, the Sinuhe returned, the treasure of Khufu in their possession."

Atemu seemed at least mildly interested by this, not returning his gaze back to the book at least. "You don't say."

"Rubies the size of onions." Seto gave a small smile. "Staffs of solid gold, with great diamonds mounted on top. Dishes of silver. Truly a find."

"Now..." Atemu propped his right hand up to his chin. "As I recall, I bet on the Sistrum team to find it." He shrugged his shoulders. "Shame."

"I had Aramna." Seto replied. "But who had Sinuhe..."

"Well, whoever did, it would be their responsibility to remember." Atemu said.

"Indeed." Seto agreed.

Atemu glanced to his right, out the large window right beside him, which gave a view to the long winding pathway up to the palace entrance. On the stone path, a long line of people stretched, perhaps for miles, as they went even beyond Atemu's sight, off into the city. Many wore dirty and tattered clothing, the likes of which Atemu had never had to even think about wearing.

"You haven't forgotten already, have you?" Seto asked, noting the expression of slight confusion he wore.

"And if I have?" Atemu replied, a small smile crossing his face for a split second before fading.

"The peasants decorate our palace path in anticipation of tomorrow's special day." Seto said, standing up from his chair and moving around the table, to similiarly gaze down at the masses on the stone below. "It comes just once a year. Virtually every peasant...hell, even the commoners and perhaps the occasional nomarch comes to stand in line. Some arrive many days before, but most arrive only on the night before." Seto cleared his throat. "This day represents a beacon of hope to the less fortunate, who dream of waking up one morning to a dreary existence, and waking up the next morning to a life of luxury, without worry."

"Ah yes." Atemu finally spoke. "Favor day."

Seto snorted. "An awful layman way of terming it. A prince should at least refer to it by it's proper title."

"Well, that's what it is." Atemu insisted, waving his hand dismissively. "A day on which favors are granted. I see nothing wrong with calling it simply that."

"Fair enough." Seto conceded. "Can you imagine?" He pondered, looking down at the teeming mass. "Having to wait in line, then beg, to get things you want? To get things you need?"

"I'd rather not." Atemu replied. "How many of them do you think actually get audiences?"

"Perhaps five hundred. At best." Seto said thoughtfully. "Imagine waiting in a line all night, only to never actually get to the front. How many of them do you think are granted their request?"

"Half that. Perhaps even two hundred." Atemu estimated.

"Conservative."

"Well, it's my father granting requests. Two hundred might even be liberal." Atemu snickered. "Were I Pharoah, I'd simply have the servants empty one of the treasure chambers, scatter the valuables across Thebes, and call that an adequate favor day."

"And that, my friend, is why you are merely a prince." Seto replied. "There's more to the world than just gold and gems."

"Not much else." Atemu countered. "Besides, I think my idea displays a much kinder and generous side to the public than this."

"And that." Came a deep, husky voice from behind them. "Is precisely why that idea is not used."

Atemu turned around quickly to face Shada, who had snuck up quietly behind the two of them, undetected.

"Kindness and generousity are not to be handed out freely to the subjects." Shada continued, slowly walking up towards them. "There's another word for that sort of thing."

"Weakness?" Atemu finished. "Straight from my father's mouth."

"Well, your father is a great, wise, and respected Pharoah. So there are worse places to get advice from." Shada said.

"Ah, Shada." Atem sighed, laying back into his chair. "I see you're hard at work at developing your role within my inner circle one day."

"Whatever do you mean, my prince?" Shada asked, smiling slightly as he spoke.

"Yes." He put his open hand out in front of him, moving it from left to right slowly as he spoke. "Shada: The sober yin to Pharoah Atemu's raging yang. The wise, rational Priest Shada, always keeping the childish and selfish desires of Pharoah Atemu on a leash, guiding the hand of our young leader."

"Is that a promise?" Shada asked slowly. "You're a little young to already be picking out the priests of your inner circle, I think."

"Well, no sense in beating around the bush." Atemu said, looking off to his left at the wall. "I've grown up around you guys since I was little. You've always been there for me. Maybe I'm just a fool, but I can't imagine anything else. I'll be at the top, with my six members of the inner circle." He cleared his throat dramatically. "Of course, you have Priest Seto-"

"Priest in training, I think." Seto corrected.

Atemu shrugged. "Well, if you fail the test, I'll pull some strings with...whoever tests such things. Anyway, Priest Seto, Priest Shada, Priest Mahad, Priest Karim, Priestess Isis, and Priest Buhen."

"Quite a bit of youth on that list." Seto pointed out. "Imagine, a reign most notably marked by the wild nights. Parties across the land, thousands of gallons of beer consumed daily, the brothel business increases tenfold..."

"Well, at least we'll be remembered." Atemu pointed out.

"Now." Shada said slowly. "I believe it was I who had Sinuhe in the pool."

Atemu gave a small smile. "So it was."

""""

'Favor Day', better known as "Aknamkanon's Day", as it was a day of his creation, was as Seto had phrased it. Indeed, to the teeming masses who lived in poverty, to those who suffered at the hands of others, perhaps even themselves, to anyone who lacked something they needed or wanted, this was the ray of hope.

Pharoah Aknamkanon had made a discovery during his reign, in the early years. A vast majority of his subjects lived in depression. The slaves, peasants, and commoners would gaze upon the great palace of The Pharoah, the mansions of the highly ranked nomarchs and viziers, and would dream about such a life. But only dream. Slaves would stay as slaves. Peasants would stay as peasants. Commoners would stay as commoners. As would their children, and their children's children. A life was set from the moment it began, and until the life ended. There was no hope of breaking away from it.

Aknamkanon held no pity for these masses, of course. But that aside, with no room to dream of a better life, the productivity and general state of his kingdom suffered. So, Aknamkanon's Day was created.

Indeed, it was simple. You arrived at the palace doors as early as twenty days before the date, and waited. Most people didn't come that early, and anyone coming earlier was turned away. You waited, often fighting over places in line with others who came. It was your responsibility to hold your place in line, no palace guard would step in to solve disputes regarding such things, unless there was the threat of a death.

If you waited in line, held your place close enough to the front, and managed to avoid killing or being killed, you might just have your wish granted. Individually, or in small groups if appropriate, the masses were ushered into the throne room. Indeed a vast majority of these people had never even thought of the possibility of stepping into this holy room, much less for an audience with the Pharoah.

Well, it wasn't always the Pharoah. For the sake of moving things along, each person or group would see one of several high ranking individuals. The Pharoah, The King, The Vizier, The High Priest, and perhaps a few high-ranking Nomarchs. Depending on luck of the draw, you'd get one of these, any of them capable of granting your wish, or refusing you.

You would step before whoever it was who would be doing the granting or refusing, and state your request, showing all the assumed and expected courtesies of someone in the presence of one much greater than you. It wasn't that simple, though. After your request, you would be asked questions. Sometimes just one, sometimes many. _Why do you desire this? What would you use it for? Why do you deserve it? _That sort of thing.

Some asked for land. Others for gold. Perhaps food. Maybe help in an endeavor. Sometimes the means with which to start an endeavor. You could, indeed, ask for just about any favor you could imagine. You could even ask for revenge against someone who had wronged you. If the circumstances permitted, it was even known that some asked for someone to be killed.

And then, you would be granted your request, or denied it. Regardless of which, you were expected to leave immediately, either knowing your life was about to get much better, or knowing you would be standing in line just like this next year, with the same request on mind, hoping to get a different high ranking individual. And that was that. It was a relatively slim chance, but it was something. There was, at the very least, the opportunity to change your fortunes and your life.

At the end of the day, many many thousands never had the chance to even get an audience, and were simply turned away, told to go home and continue on with their lives. Again, this was expected to be done without complaint and with complete understanding that this was how things were done. After all, under previous rulers, such an opportunity was completely unheard of.

""""

"I know you probably get many...crazed claims of treasure from peasants such as myself, but I really do believe what this journal says is true." A nameless man, kneeled on the carpet just in front of the dais before the Pharoah, continued. "This journal has been in our family for years, and I have always longed to go and seek the treasure this journal claims to be hidden far off in the deserts. But I have never been able to mount the manpower or equipment needed for such a long journey."

"Interesting." The Pharoah admitted. He sat on his throne, clad in his regal attire, glinting in the midday sun thanks to the jewelry he wore around his arms, ankles, neck and head. He actually wore little else, as was normal in Egypt owing to the heat. He wore a small tunic and undergarments that did nothing more than provide modest protection, and brown slippers. "I presume you intend to ask for said manpower and equipment?"

"Yes, my Pharoah." The man replied.

"And you say this Journal was...found. Not paid for, nor traded for...simply found in a...cave, was it?"

"Yes. I believe the explorer died in the cave, due to some manner of beast."

"I think I will grant this. Does a 50/50 split sound acceptable?" Aknamkanon inquired, as if there was a choice in the matter.

"Of course. Thank you." He bowed slightly further down towards the ground, then slowly got up and left the room from whence he came, not turning his back on the Pharoah.

"I could have done this." Atemu growled from behind and a little to the right of the throne. Aknamkanon glanced behind him. Two guards flanked either side of the throne, scythes and knifes at the ready, wearing the customary simple attire of the palace guards. A simple tunic covered their torso and brown sandals were on their feet. Behind the guard on the right, Atemu was leaning against the back wall, watching the proceedings. "You ask a couple questions and say yes or no. More would get done faster if I was helping."

"You'd drive the kingdom into bankruptcy." Aknamkanon responded. "I'd accomplish the same if I used a small toddler who only knew how to speak one word: Yes."

"Father, I have seen the vaults downstairs. No one man could drive this kingdom into bankruptcy." Atemu said playfully.

"Well, if ever one could, it would be my son." Aknamkanon said. "Don't feel bad, son. There are very few people I trust with this task. One day you will be old enough and mature enough to take it on."

"Of course." Atemu said. "My way isn't just 'different'...it has to be 'wrong' as well."

"You're learning!" The Pharoah exclaimed. "But seriously, son, you...need a cold streak about you for a task like this. I've crushed hundreds of dreams, sitting in this chair, carrying out this task. I've looked into the eyes of the desparate, the dying, the starving. I've heard them profess their dreams, their desires, tell me what they need, what they want...and then, I've looked them right into the eyes, seen all the pain and suffering there...seen the beacon of hope in there, hoping beyond hope their dreams are finally to be answered...and then, I have said no and sent them away."

"Oh please." Atemu said dismissively. "What makes you so sure I feel so much as a drop of pity for these commoners? I'm a prince, spoiled rotten all my life. I can be cold and heartless. You sure seem convinced otherwise, I can't help but wonder why."

"Because," he smiled "were it up to you, you'd have the servants empty one of the treasure chambers, scatter the valuables across Thebes, and call that an adequate' favor day'."

Atemu blinked a few times in confusion.

"I know of all things that come to pass within these palace walls, son. Now why don't you run off and leave thoughts of responsibility as Pharoah to another time?" Aknamkanon waved his hand casually. And Atemu did, indeed, decide to run off. It was, indeed, quite boring after the first few dozen requests.


	2. Jewish Business

Chapter Two: Jewish Business

"So, many years in the future, we'll be meeting just like this." Karim stated, sitting crosslegged on the carpeted floor, part of a circle formed by Prince Atemu and the six future priests. "Except we'll be sitting upstairs, in the throne room. Probably on massive chairs. And instead of trying to come up with random stuff we can bet small amounts of gold on, we'll be making decisions on how to spend and gain massive amounts of gold."

"So really, years may pass, but nothing's going to change." Mahad commented dryly.

"The chairs sound like a pain." Seto said offhand. "But it's nice to have job security."

"Six guys and one girl." Isis piped up, head propped up on her fist, elbow on her knee. "I like where this is going."

"Well, as I recall, no man is allowed to lust after a priestess." Atemu pointed out. "So as long as you pass the test..."

"You suppose that rule holds for a priest though?" Isis wondered. "Even a Pharoah?"

"Good question. But any thoughts regarding gender will have no place in my inner circle." Atemu said pointedly. "A good priest is a good priest, and a good priestess is a good priestess."

"Now..." Buhen began "the final tallies are in." He cleared his throat. "All in all, 523 were seen yesterday, and 230 were approved."

"I had 526, so I guess I win that pool." Isis said quickly.

"No, you went over." Seto corrected. "You can't go over."

"To hell with that." Isis retorted. "I was closest!"

"But you went over." Seto insisted. "That's the rule, you can't go over."

"Atemu, tell him you can go over." Isis whined to Atemu, looking at him hopefully.

"I don't win either way, why would I give a damn?" Atemu pointed out, shrugging.

"Because you're the prince." Isis said. "Now, do I win the pool or not?"

Atemu sighed. "Well. I suppose I'll have to hear about gender bias and sexism for the next twenty days if I say you can't go over, right?"

"Yes." Isis admitted shortly.

"Very well. Isis, you win the pool." Atemu conceded, waving his hand casually in her direction. She promptly stuck her tongue out at Seto, childishly.

"What are you, six years old?" Seto grunted.

"Oh, come off it." Shada insisted. "Besides, didn't you have 232 on the approved pool?"

""""

"So certainly, you see the vast fortune to be made here." The man known as 'Jacob' began to conclude. "Right now, these...mixtures are quite rare and reserved only for the high class. The mix formed from the poppy flowers, the powder borne of the Coca plant, the material from the Nicotiana plants, these things are quite rare and expensive. I have assembled plans and the required workforce to begin full scale production on these drugs. Within a thousand settings of the sun, Opium, Cocaine, Nicotine, and many other such materials will possess their own stalls in every marketplace in the known world. We could use your help in this endeavor, Pharoah Aknamkanon. And I do think you could use the vast amounts of gold to be horded here."

With that, he bent down slightly, grabbing at the meaty contents of the golden plate in front of him. It was dinnertime in the Pharoah's Palace, and vast quantities of lamb were lined down the silver, glinting dinner table. Jacob was seated on the left side, on a simple bronze colored chair, three rows away from the front. He placed a succulent piece of lamb in his mouth, and awaited a response from the Pharoah.

Of course, the Pharoah sat at the front of the table, looking down the long and narrow platform. His wife, Amaunet, sat in the first row just to his left, and his brother and advisor Aknadin. Atemu was seated to the left, in the second row, his eyes mostly closed as he scooped food into his mouth slowly and listened to the messenger. Just as his father had asked him.

_"Listen as much as you can, by all means, it's good to hear these things. But do not speak, do not interfere with my business, only listen."_

Atemu knew that this Jacob represented a group from Israel, who sought the cooperation and consolidation of Egypt in a large scale business venture. As had just been revealed, this group wanted to begin the widespread distributions of what they called 'drugs'. Egypt played host to large quantities of the plants from which these drugs were harvested, but more importantly they were well positioned on the map. Not to mention the masses of Egypt who would contribute to the profits of this venture. All in all, it seemed important that Egypt joined this project. So, this Jacob had been invited for dinner to discuss the nature of the proposition.

Across from Atemu sat Seto, as he was the son of Aknadin, and he to had interest in hearing about the Pharoah's business and seeing things from the perspective of his father. The table stretched on much further after that, but these seats were unoccupied for tonight.

"What, precisely, is it that you seek?" The Pharoah inquired, himself picking up a piece of lamb from his plate.

"A few things." Jacob said slowly, clearing his throat. "One, permission for our caravans to move in, through, and out of Egypt, as well as to sell our products to Egyptian subjects. Two, cooperation in producing the drugs via the plants that are grown across Egyptian lands. And if at all possible, help in expanding our venture to further lands on this great continent."

The Pharoah looked off to his right slightly, at no one or no thing in particular, so Jacob continued. "Now, the basic properties and effects of the drugs are as follows-"

The Pharoah waved his hand dismissively. "I am quite aware of them." He said. "I've experienced them firsthand, even."

Jacob nodded. "Yes, I see...well, if things go according to plan, the profits for you could amount to-"

"I'm sure the gold is significant." The Pharoah nodded as he spoke. "Now, with things the way they are now...the peasants and commoners have beer and perhaps low to mid quality wine. The rich and the royalty have high quality wine and these...drugs. I'm not sure I understand why we need to be attempting to alter this system."

"The...effects of these drugs are far greater than any beer or wine. We stand to make far more profit from selling drugs, and the public stands to...ah, benefit much more from them." Jacob explained.

"Clearly." Aknamkanon conceded. "We could also stand to profit greatly by selling golden plates to the masses, yet the commoners still eat off wooden planks, if anything at all. Great amounts of riches could be had if we sold camels to the everyman, but the streets of Thebes are lined with people walking all the same. There's a reason why things are the way they are. The everyman can simply not afford these luxuries."

"Gold and camels are rare, valuable substances, no matter how you spin it. These drugs are rare and valuable only because we make it so." Jacob argued, swallowing another piece of lamb. "You see, the means exist for us to make massive amounts of these substances, we simply need to put the time and manpower into it."

"The amount created does not change the expensive price tag." Aknamkanon countered. "Unless you intend to drive the price of drugs down so they can be afforded by the masses, in which case this exercise seems rather pointless. Beer is far cheaper to produce in mass."

"Yes, Pharoah, drive them down, but not to levels so extreme. Certainly, the extreme effects of the drugs when compared to beer makes it worth more. Look, very careful calculations have been done here. Yes, it is more expensive to produce, but we are also capable of selling it for much more. When common folk learn of the extreme potential effects of our drugs, they will find ways to earn the riches to afford them."

Aknamkanon shrugged. "I still do not see the point. As a commoner, you would either be able to buy a large quantity of beer or a small quantity of drugs."

"Yes, Pharoah. But consider having both on the market, at the same time." Jacob continued to attempt to persuade. "Listen, you bring up some fair points. But here's what we have laid out. You're looking at an investment of about...seven hundred and fifty thousand debens of gold, or the equivalent. We're willing to guarantee eight hundred thousand debens back to you, no matter what. If this venture isn't as profitable as we believe, or if it completely falls on it's face, you'll still profit. Even if it means paying it out of our own pocket."

"Interesting." Aknamkanon conceded.

"But we've done our research. And we believe that, and this is just you, the profit within a year will be around three million debens of gol-"

His point was made, but he couldn't quite finish, for Atemu began loudly choking on a piece of lamb at this.

"Three million within a year?" He exclaimed loudly inbetween coughs and gasps. He pounded his fist down on the table hard, then began attempting to suck the lamb down his throat. Finally, it went down, and he blinked a few times before continuing. "Well damn! Keep talking!"

"...yes." Jacob continued uneasily, nervously fingering his lamb as he saw the Pharoah glare in shock and anger at his son. "Five years, we believe 20 million is possible. After which, we predict profits will level off at about two million debens a year. We feel very strongly about these calculations."

"Well sign me the hell up!" Atemu exclaimed, oblivious to the fact he should not be talking, or that his father was glaring at him. "Gold, manpower, whatever you need, I'm there for you!"

"Well, that's...very kind of you, but...uh..." he looked at the Pharoah, hoping he might step in and say something. He could think of smarter thinks then pointing out that Atemu was 'just' a prince right to his face. "Well, that's about all there is to say from me. At this point, we just need a yes or no from you." He made sure to look straight at Aknamkanon. "Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Turkey, and many other countries, virtually all within this area, have already signed on, so...we just wait for your decision."

The Pharoah took a deep, settling breath, looking up at the high, gold-decorated ceiling, before responding. "Jacob. I thank you for the generous offer, and you can relay that message back to your group as well. However, I think I will pass."

A long silence proceded this statement. Atemu looked quite surprised, perhaps even angry. In fact, the entire table shared a similar expression at this decision.

"It is within my power to increase our guarantee to a million debens, and perhaps even offer you-"

"It's not about riches." Aknamkanon cut Jacob off. "I assure you, I have my reasons. Again, thank you for the offer. If you must know, I'm simply concerned about the potential state of this kingdom. Already, it seems every citizen is constantly drunk or hungover on beer, and I do not wish to add to the problem."

"...very well. I suppose that will be all." Jacon concluded, standing up from the table. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't stay for dessert, but I really need to be getting back." He said quickly, backing away from the table. He took a quick bow, then backed out of the room as quickly as he could.

"Already you begin to turn senile." Atemu grunted, before Jacob had even fully left the room.

"What's wrong with you?" Aknamkanon asked, his brow furrowed, looking at his son.

"What's wrong with _you?_" Atemu threw back, standing up from the table. "Do you not like gold? Is there some hidden advantage to having less gold opposed to more gold? Am I not seeing something here?"

"Life isn't all about riches." Aknamkanon replied, trying to keep his voice calm and quiet. "I have the effects of the drugs on the subjects of my kingdom to think about, for one. Second, I stand to profit and benefit less than neighboring countries in this endeavor. By refusing cooperation, I can significantly slow and limit what nearly countries can stand to gain. You see, son, this is why I am the Pharoah, and you are just a Prince." He looked down at the tiled floor for a split second before continuing. "Now, I believe I specifically asked you not to speak when I am handling my affairs at dinner."

"Well, maybe you should do a decent job of it!" Atemu insisted, no effort to keep his voice down apparent. "I'll be ruling this kingdom one day, y'know, and I'm just trying to make sure it's not run into the ground when that day comes, thanks to decisions like this!"

"Are we running low on riches?" Aknamkanon said slowly. "Are the vaults downstairs not loaded with gold and jewels as it is? Have I ever, once, in your entire life, denied you something on the basis of not being able to afford it?"

"It's not about me!" Atemu insisted. "It's about all of us! The kingdom of Egypt!"

"Yes, I'm sure that's what's on your mind right now. The kingdom." Aknamkanon said slowly. "Son, can you just trust me on this? This is not a venture this kingdom should involve themselves in. I feel strongly about this, and my word here is final." He paused for a moment, swallowing some bile. "Now, could you please sit down, forget about this, and make an effort to avoid infringing on my business in the future?"

Atemu stood for a few moments, half a mind to storm out of the room to further prove his point. All eyes in the room were on him, greatly anticipating his next move.

Finally, he sat back down in the chair heavily, making sure to grunt to express his annoyance, pulled his chair back up to the table, and went back to work at his lamb silently.

""""

"You know your father spoils you, don't you?" Seto asked, seated on the Prince's lush, massive, satin sheeted bed. "If I had performed such an outburst while my father was conducting business, then proceded to argue with him as such, I wouldn't be able to sit down for months."

"Your father still spanks you?" Atemu asked in mild disbelief. "For Ra's Sake, we're seventeen years old!"

"No, he...would literally have me followed around all the time by guards, who would not permit me to sit down." Seto corrected. "It kinda sucks."

"Well, something had to be said." Atemu grunted, standing in front of his bed, looking at Seto, arms crossed over his chest. "It's throwing away a fortune! And for what?"

"Well...sometimes parents just do things you don't understand." Seto shrugged. "What are you gonna do? Your father is a wise ruler, I'm sure you'll inheirit a wonderful kingdom one day."

"There is nothing wise about this." Atemu insisted. "I can not be expected to hold my silence." He slowly walked over to the cabinet beside his bed and grabbed at a golden statuette of a camel on it.

Atemu's room was quite a sight to behold, it seemed almost unfair a teenager could have a room as nice as this. His massive bed was partially covered on the side opposite Seto by massive flowing curtains that could be pulled to completely obscure the bed, or be pushed into the corner entirely. One wall was a massive window, looking over massive fields of flowers and corn, and provided good views of the desert beyond. The floor was a silver tile, glinting in the sunlight. The walls were, every few feet, decorated by a different object of great value and rarity. Masks, staffs, sculptures, and carvings were among the decorations. The room was perhaps eight hundred square feet in size all in all, containing enough room for four or five commoner huts.

"Well, somehow, your father does not seem to intend to punish you for your misdeed. Indeed, he did not even yell or reprimand you. So I would leave it be, especially so close to your birthday." Seto recommended.

"Fair enough." Atemu agreed. "Hm. It seems that my violent outburst and blatant disobeying will have no ill effect on anyone. How...odd." He gave a small smile, inspite of himself. "And I do suppose we do have an awful lot of riches as is."

""""


	3. When you turn eighteen

Chapter 3: When you turn eighteen...

"I can't believe your father. After your outburst last week, throwing you a party like this." Amaunet chided, looking about the main hall of the palace.

The decorations were out in full force for today. Massive banners of all the colors of the rainbow hung from the high ceilings, dancing about slightly in the wind. The entire room shimmered, recently cleaned and polished to perfection by servants. Tables stretched hundreds of feet across the hall, decorated in the finest dishes and most succulent foods. Golden statues and figurines were also placed in several places along these tables. Everywhere else was mostly loaded with people. Yes, the royalty and the priests were in attendance, but so were many of the higher to mid level commoners. Atemu liked having a large gathering at his parties, so his only requirement was that anyone coming be bathed well and must be sporting at least casual clothing. His father didn't love the prospect of having common people in the palace, but he did spoil his son, and he'd get over it.

"This day comes around once a year." Atemu said. "I'll probably yell at him a dozen times over the next year, he can punish me then, but today belongs to me."

"You only turn eighteen once." Seto said, standing by Atemu's side. The two were standing at the head of the proceeding, on top of a dais at the front and center.

"Fair enough." Amaunet conceded. "Now run along and do whatever it is you do."

Atemu and Seto stepped away from the Dais slowly, turning out towards their adoring public and heading in their direction.

"So what're you gonna do?" Seto asked, looking around at everyone in attendance. "You need to get yourself a girl, and I see some cute ones."

"Hey, if you spot something worthwhile, I don't wanna hear about it. It's all yours." Atemu shook his hands up in the air, by his head.

"Hey, I'm not letting you leave this party until you hook up. This is the best opportunity of your life to find someone, even if it's just for a quickie." Seto insisted.

"We'll see, Seto." Atemu said, slowly. "We'll see."

"Not like they can say no. If they do, you can always have em beheaded." Seto laughed. He began moving towards the long table to his immediate right. "I'm gonna go drink some wine, you can find me there."

Atemu gave a quick mock salute toward Seto's back as he walked away. "A noble endeavor." He remarked sarcastically.

""""

Some time later, the exact time a bit of a blur thanks to all the Alcohol consumed by all parties involved, Seto's advice starting sounding a lot better. He was seated on the step leading up to the dais at the front, perhaps a tad out of it...but only a tad. He spied the happy crowd, thrilled to be in such a rich setting.

Indeed, Seto had a good point. He was turning eighteen, this was a party in his honor, and almost anyone could come. What girl in his age group _wouldn't_ show up? I mean, it was the only way to make your dreams come true short of favor day for the less fortunate. Marrying into money or royalty.

Sure, you'd be laughed at or smacked for even thinking about considering mentioning the possibility of the chance that maybe a prince would want to even look at you for more than a few seconds. But it had happened before. Usually, princes married someone else of high status. But that's the funny thing about a word like 'usually'.

Finally, he got up, and began slowly strolling through the crowd, his eyes out for a target. This was the one day of the year when people didn't have to bow when he was in the vicinity. He didn't mind it.

He made a quick stop at one of the tables and grabbed a large goblet of beer. Not exactly the drink of kings, but this was good beer. Really good. Strong, flavorful, no strands of solids...it may as well have been wine.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" His mother said, from behind him, startling him slightly.

"A lot-" he spun around slowly to face her, only to be startled considerably. Not his mother. Some girl he wasn't familiar with. "Mm?" He managed.

"I've got a pool going with some friends." She explained, he voice flat and calm, as if she was talking to anyone. "And they also bet me I wouldn't have the guts to come up and talk to you." She was a pretty girl. about his age, with brown hair of medium length falling around her head, and a fairly white complexion for this area, though tan was evident. She wore a simple set of clothing, almost tunic-esque.

Atemu was thrown off his guard. A girl after his own heart, apparently. Only there was a good chance there was more at stake than simple fun with the bets she and her friends were making. Atemu wasn't exactly throwing down twenty debens on the number of palace camels who didn't pass monthly inspection going over 25 because he desparately needed a new pair of sandals and bedsheets.

"Well, I can't say no to that. But how long do you have to talk to me?" Atemu asked, leaning back slightly against the table.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Let's just see where this takes us. I mean, this is the one day a year where the commoners are allowed to talk to the prince, and most people are still too terrified. A couple comments is pretty impressive as is."

"In any case, I suppose you're looking at three goblets of wine, and a flask of beer." Atemu answered slowly, thinking hard about the events leading up to this moment. "Though I don't think I could promise that. Now, who are you?"

"Oh, of course. Sorry." She bowed her head slightly for a split second. "Teana."

Atemu nodded. "You like the party?"

"Of course. What else am I going to say?" She quipped.

"You know, you're about to set the record for...calmest, most level headed conversation held with the prince from a commoner." Atemu remarked.

She gave a small smirk. "Well, I'm not entirely unfamiliar with the ways of the wealthy. My father does make a fair bit as a architect." She looked around at the crowd. "Now, my prince, let me ask you something. These birthday parties you have, are you at all concerned? All these figures of royalty mingling with commoners, you're just asking for an assassination attempt."

Atemu nodded slowly. "Wise. For starters, I have confidence in the security checks heading into the palace. Every single person who comes in is checked carefully and precisely. Secondly-" he raised his right hand up into the air and pointed high up towards the ceiling, at small rafters located in niches in the walls. You could just barely make out muscular guards and soldiers, holding out bows, arrows notched and quivering within them, pointed down at the crowd.

"They're trained to follow all the royal members in attendance. So, in the time it takes for an arrow to zip the distance from ceiling to floor, you'd have to go from looking completely unsuspicious to having done the evil deed." Atemu explained. "Now, in all fairness, I shouldn't have told you all that, so don't go spreading it around. That being said, I didn't tell you about the other hundred places where hidden guards and soldiers and security measures are, so don't get any ideas either." He winked.

"Not bad." Teana said. "Now, there's a five deben bonus in it for me if I ask this question. So please don't have me beheaded." She cleared her throat quietly. "Why haven't you...ah...'hooked up' with anyone yet?"

Atemu pursed his lips. Birthday or no birthday, that really was off-limits. But he was drunk, she was cute, he had an answer, and she had gold at stake. So, why the hell not? "Well, Teana, let the record show that I am _not_ a virgin. I am...the anti-virgin, in fact, whatever that is. The truth of the matter is, I can not envision there existing a single women who can keep me satisfied for the rest of my life, so I'm really just interested in constantly mixing it up." He cleared his throat loudly. "By the time I'm Pharoah, it's my hope that I'm averaging...three different women a night. I just don't think it'd be fun restricting myself to one when I could do something like that. I just wanna bag every decent looking girl in Egypt, have them imported by the boatload from distant lands, that sort of deal."

"Well, this is a nice way to talk to a lady." Teana remarked sarcastically.

"Hey, I can talk to a 'lady' anyway I want." Atemu continued, not sure he could stop the momentum of his explanation if he wanted to. "I'm the _prince!_" He chuckled awkwardly. "But seriously, I don't ever wanna 'hook up' in that sense, y'know? I think my reign over this kingdom is going to be...waaaay different from anything before. I just wanna lay around all day and have sex. Do whatever's fun. Is that so awful?"

"I wonder if all Princes had thoughts like this at your age." Teana asked no one in particular.

Atemu laughed. "Well, if so, none of them ever acted on it, that's for sure. Especially my father. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I think they're all scared to do what they really want to. It's a legacy thing. My father always talks about how people will remember him when he's dead. Why do you even care about that? You're dead."

"Well, if all you royal guys are this interesting to talk to, I might have to make sure I have conversations with all the other important people here before I leave." Teana said.

"Also, I think everyone else will have a lot more fun when I'm Pharoah. Not just me, not just the people at the top." He continued. "We have a lot of...stupid rules, I think I'll end up burning at least half of the book of laws on my first day. So much...idiotic tradition that has no place in modern times. We got to let go. I'm definitely going to be more lenient than any Pharoah before me, I'll tell you that right now."

At that moment, the sounds of a scuffle rang out from across the room, catching both of their attention. Atemu, who was practically leaning back on the table, sprung up like he was spring loaded. Everyone in the room was beginning to congregate around where the sounds were coming from, and Atemu was quick to begin pushing his way through the crowd. However, he kept stumbling and bowling into people as he walked, taking inconsistent steps and waving back and forth.

"Lightweight." Teana mumbled to herself as she began to slowly approach the action.

"What's going on?" Atemu said loudly. As soon as he spoke, the crowd turned to look at him, then quickly gave him a wide berth. Birthday party or not, you still had to respect royalty. Or maybe it looked like he might throw up any second. One of those.

"Nothing." A guard replied in a monotone. "Just continue on." As the mass moved to the sides, a gathering of four guards could be viewed in the back right corner of the hall. They were gathered around a single individual, a male, clearly a commoner, perhaps about two or three years older than Atemu. He looked confused and scared at this turn of events, looking back and forth between the guards.

"I want to know these things." Atemu insisted never the less, still a little shaky. "These are my guests, this is my party, I should be kept up to date."

"We caught him looking lustfully at Priestess-In-Training Isis." The guard explained quickly. "The penalty for which is death."

Atemu had a blank look on his face at this, then shifted to squinting at the guards. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, sir." The guard replied, nearly putting everyone within a fifteen foot radius to sleep with his voice.

"Yeah, uh..." Atemu scratched the back of his head for a moment, "why don't you just let this guy go and look for the _real_ potential troublemakers in here?"

"Don't worry, sir, there are plenty of guards and security measures here to keep you safe while we take care of the execution-"

"Number one, it's my birthday." Atemu began. "The rules are different when it comes to commoner-royalty interaction. Number two, Isis is not a Priestess, she's only in training. Number three, that's got to be the stupidest rule in the long history of stupid rules. And number four, damnit, it's my birthday, so you have to do what I say!" He finished, sounding barely sober enough to take seriously.

"Son, could you?"

Everyone turned around. The Pharoah had approached from the opposing direction, from the dais at the front, walking towards the scene.

"Just enjoy your party. Go drink more, go talk with people, do anything you want, just please let the guards take care of their business." He said, almost pleading, slowly walking towards the grouping as he spoke. "Please?"

"If I do this thing next year, and word gets out that someone got killed over something any heterosexual male would do, how many heterosexual males do you think are going to show up?" Atemu asked bluntly. "You're ruining my party."

"Atemu, I'm not asking you to understand. I don't really expect you to. But one day, you will understand, so until then, just stay out of it. These are the laws, and they must be obeyed." Aknamkanon said.

"I mean, who cares? It's not like he did anything. He just did what heterosexual guys do. Do you want every male Egyptian to become an eunuch? Because that's where we're headed! And not only is looking 'lustfully' harmless, it's completely arbitrary! For all you know, he's just got heartburn! You can't possibly tell something like that for sure."

"Atemu, please just-" Aknamkanon tried to interject, but Atemu wouldn't stop himself. Maybe he couldn't, even. Who knows.

"If you want to do stuff like this on your own time, do whatever the hell you want, but not at my party." Atemu groaned, staring daggers right into his father. "I want people to have a good time, that's all." He sighed. "But, I guess I can't stop you, so...whatever." He turned to the right and began walking along the wall, heading for a door that led out into a balcony, a great silence in the hall behind him.

Aknamkanon put his hands on his hips, staring down the offender, who had spent the entire time mortified over his coming beheading, just petrified stiff, not even fully taking in the argument or the significance. The guards just stood there as they always tried to, stone-faced and indifferent.

Aknamkanon waved towards the guards, snapping the man out of his trance. "Take...take him downstairs. I'll deal with him later."

At that moment, Aknadin ran up from the dais area towards his Pharoah and brother. "Um, Pharoah, the law is quite clear that-"

"It will be done." Aknamkanon insisted, waving his hand dismissively towards his brother, who stopped a few steps before reaching him. "I just want a chance to talk to him when he's sober. These are the kinds of things that make or break a future Pharoah."

"Very well." Aknadin submitted.

""""

Slowly, Teana stepped out into the balcony, pushing the thick velvet curtain aside as she moved onto the stone structure jutting out of the side of the palace. It was a decent sized little balcony, room for perhaps eight people, and a wonderful railing of granite with little pillars holding it up.

Atemu was pacing back and forth across it, which forced quite a few turns, but it was managable.

"Hey." He muttered, noticing her as he spun about. "You might wanna make sure you don't step on the black tiles in the hallway, I hear they chop off your toes for that. Oh, and I guess one of the pillars holding up the roof in front of the main doors is dedicated to some Pharoah who lived a billion years ago, if you lean on it they burn all the hair off your body and whatever else happens to burn while they're at it."

"Why do you even care?" She had to ask, even though part of her was a little glad he did.

"It's not like I care if that guy dies or not, okay? I mean, I don't think he deserves to die for what he did, but whatever. I just don't want this hanging over my birthday party. I like it when people come here. Would you jump into a lion's cage after seeing the person who jumped in before you get mauled?"

"That's good. For a second there I thought there was some selfless, man-of-the-people angle here." Teana commented. "And that just wouldn't do at all."

"Hey, any prince before me wouldn't have done anything." Atemu pointed out. "Anyway, look, this might sound a little weird, and I swear I won't have you killed if you say no, but you wanna find someplace private?"

She tilted her head to the side, sizing him up. "Really? I mean, think about this for a second."

"Well, I've already told you what I'm all about, so there's no sense pretending I have any interest in getting to know you or engaging in any meaningful conversation. I am..." he squinted, thinking hard for a minute... "I am...heronist-"

"Hedonistic." Teana corrected quickly. "I think."

"Right...I am...that, I am that as they come. And quite frankly, if you're not willing, I have zero interest in you in any capacity, no offense, so why bother wasting time pretending something else? Also, this would really piss off my father right now."

She nodded slowly. "Fair enough." She bit her lower lip. "Well, that'd be quite the story to tell my friends...at least, until getting bagged by you becomes a right of passage for every women around. But, I did promise my mother-"

Quite suddenly, the sounds of chaos erupted from the hall. Not like the previous minor incident. That much was immediately evident. People were screaming. Chairs were being knocked over. Various food, drink, and decorative items were crashing to the floor, or so the sounds would have you believe. He could hear the whistle of arrows cruising through the air, then the thock of them hitting. What they were hitting, who knew? Something was going terribly wrong.

Atemu overcame his initial urge to run in, and instead ducked down to the floor, decreasing his target size. Teana copied him, placing herself unconsciously between the entrance out to the balcony and the prince. It was just something you did. If one of them had to die, she should do everything she could to make sure it was her. Especially when he was the only heir.

A second later, two guards burst through the curtains with no regard for them, stepped over Teana, and spun around to face the doorway again. Quickly, they put their bows up to bear and notched arrows in them, ready for the worst case scenario.

"What the hell is going on?" Atemu had to ask, hearing the sounds of chaos die down.

"It's difficult to say, but there was a disturbance within the party." The guard quickly spoke, his focus on the threshold leading to the balcony. "Multiple."

"So, uh, hypothetically, if my life was put in danger, but the prince was fine, would you guys try to save me?" Teana couldn't help but ask, running her fingers through her hair.

"Shut up, girl!" The other guard barked. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Calm down." Atemu grunted. "We were just talking."

And then, the seriousness of the situation escalated again. A strangled, unifed gasp from the hallway, followed by the whizzing of several more arrows. And then, complete silence. The incident had passed, but it certainly felt like something wasn't right.

Slowly, the guards moved forward, again treating Teana like an poorly placed stone block. They stuck their heads through the velvet, back into the grand hall. Then, their entire bodies disappeared within, slowly looking around.

"Party is over. Everyone out." Came a voice from within the hall, sounding oddly weak and uncultured. Atemu would have expected "This gathering of individuals has henceforth concluded, please escort yourselves to the nearest exit posthaste" or something of that sort.

He heard quick, rapid footsteps following, a drove of people leaving. Again, odd. In his previous birthday parties, people tried to hang around for as long as possible, if only for another bite of the quality food or another sip of the quality beer. If he had to guess, he'd say these people really wanted to leave. Whatever the incident was may have been significant, but it _was_ over...

And then, the curtains kicked up again, and a guard pointed at Teana. "You too. Out." He barked quietly, but not quite maliciously as Atemu had been used to.

"Shame." Teana said quietly as she stood to her feet and began to depart, heading back into the hall.

"We've secured the area, but-" The guard began, but was cut short. Teana, seconds after disappearing through the curtains, yet out a great yelp.

At this, Atemu had to see what had happened, so he sprung up and quickly jumped passed the guard, inspite of half-hearted protests.

He went through the curtains and back out into the extravangant hall, stepping right by Teana's side as she looked towards the Dais, some distance away, hands covering her mouth in shock.

Atemu felt his throat close up at what he saw. For the most part, it was as expected. Some banners torn down, the tables askew, items scattered...but there, on the dais, surrounded by three guards, was his father, laying down on the floor of the dais, apparently unconscious. There were perhaps fourty guards all around the room, standing guard at entrances and exits, carefully going over the room to make sure the incident was over, or looking over the Pharoah. Amaunet and Aknadin were standing on the dais, still looking down on Aknamkanon's body in shock, not yet having formed a true reaction. Seto stood a little to the right of the dais, a similar expression worn All the party attenders, sans Teana, had left as well as everyone else, leaving the Hall with a feeling of emptiness. Well, that was half the reason.

Atemu heard Teana take a deep, calming breath, then quickly push it out and take another one. He began a quick dash over towards his father, covering the hall in record time.

"He's alive." He heard a guard say as he slowed and jumped on the dais. "He's breathing. We need to get him out of here now."

"What happened?" Atemu managed, looking down from behind the guards, his voice weak and shaky.

"Got hit in the head, we think." The guard on the opposite side of the body said. "A whole bunch of people were punching and stabbing at random in the main guest area, and we thought we managed to clean it up without any issues...but as soon as things calmed down...I guess someone threw a rock."

Atemu swallowed hard. "How?" He coughed out. "How could this have...happened?" He asked, partially to the guards, but also to himself. He had complete faith in the security at his birthday parties. Complete faith. Until now, anyway.

No answer to this question didn't come with the reasonable risk of getting your head chopped off, at least for a mere guard, so this question was left to hung in the air as a fourth guard brought in a large wooden plank, best that could be done on short notice, and the unconscious body of the Pharoah was quickly laid onto it and carried away swiftly, yet carefully.

"It's...it's okay." Amaunet finally said, as Atemu turned around slowly to sit on the slight raise in the floor the dais created, looking out at the hall aimlessly. Amanuet took a seat beside him and embraced him from the side, slowly. "He'll...he'll be fine, I'm sure."

Atemu leaned into her, feeling the emptiness of her words ring hollow in his ears. After all, as was obvious, it wasn't okay, and she was anything but sure that he'd be fine.

""""


	4. The Most You've Lost

Chapter Four: The most you've lost

"How was this allowed to happen?" Atemu hissed, waving his hands about animatedly as he paced about. He had moved to anger over this incident, opposed to sadness, feeling someone needed to pay for this. "They train for months, get access to the best weapons and armor in the world, are told precisely what to do...and for what? That was exactly the sort of thing we trained them to prevent, and they failed!"

"Honey." His mother attempted to soothe. "When you're...an important person, of high status, these are the risks you take when you wake up in the morning. Pharoahs have been targeted in many assassination attempts over the years, it comes with the job. Your father knew the risk."

The prince, Amaunet, Aknadin, Seto, and a guard were positioned within the small room, which contained only a few chairs along the walls, and a large bed on which Pharoah Aknamkanon was laying. Covered by a white sheet, eyes closed, stable but unconscious. Amaunet, Aknadin and Seto were seated, the guard stood in front of the doorway in and out of the room.

"It doesn't matter. We had guards in position, we had security protocols planned, and they failed! Why is that?" Atemu insisted, looking down at his father every few steps. "Are we ever going to get a status update on him?"

"No one's denying that security failed us." Amaunet said, her hands folded in her lap. "But my point is, whoever these people are, they wanted the Pharoah dead badly, so don't blame yourself."

Atemu froze midstep, whipping his head around to face his mother. "What?" He breathed.

"I know what you're...thinking, somewhere in the back of your mind." She explained slowly. "I know that, deep down, you partially blame yourself, and you shouldn't."

"Well, it was his party." Aknadin interjected, arms crossed over his chest, sitting to the left of Amaunet. "It was his idea to have it open to the general public. No security measure in the world can offer full protection against a party like that."

"Aknadin." Amaunet said warningly. "Please."

"No, he should hear this." Aknadin insisted. "Royalty isn't supposed to mix with the commoners like that, and we never had to before you demanded it at your birthday parties so feverishly! But your father has to spoil you so much, he actually gives in to this request, which no Pharoah before would have even considered!" He stood up and pointed at Atemu's chest. "Those parties exposed the Pharoah to more danger than any Pharoah in the history of Egypt had ever exposed himself to before!"

"Stop!" Amaunet hissed. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't just make an attempt on the Pharoah's life for fun. Maybe the party left Aknamkanon in the open, but if he wasn't at the party, these...assassins would have just found another opportunity to make the attempt. The party didn't change anything."

"Made it easier." Aknadin grunted. "And he's eighteen now, stop sugarcoating everything."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Whoever these people were, they would have done whatever it took to take him down." She said, finality in her voice.

That caused Atemu to pause for a moment, thinking. "Who were these people?" He finally asked. "Who would want my father dead? Want it enough to organize an assassionation attempt like this?"

"Any neighboring country, looking to take our land and resources." Aknadin mused. "An old enemy that we don't know about. Perhaps simply an agent of chaos, wishing to spread havoc on Egypt."

Quite suddenly, a duo of guards stormed into the room, sidestepping the one guarding the threshold quickly and coming to attention before Atemu.

"More bad news, sir." The one on the right quickly began, catching his breath even as he delivered the information. "A stealth attack was launched on the temple. Three low level priests dead."

Atemu felt his stomach turn and his heart go into overdrive, clutching at it nervously. They weren't talking to anyone else. He wasn't just listening for the sake of knowing what was going on. They were telling him, and only him.

"The murderers?" He wheezed out.

"Killed." The guard continued. "Furthermore, one of the water tanks in the barracks was contaminated with poison, leaving dozens dead or sick. And...Rahotep has been killed as well."

Atemu nearly fell right over at this. Rahotep was the Pharoah's best and favorite assassin. Experienced, strong, agile, intelligent, large, feared, respected, and proficient with all weapons, Rahotep was always to be counted on in cases of singular, significant kills. For years, he had been depended on in so many ways, and even Atemu had grown somewhat close to him. Well, they occasionally held short conversations and saw each other in passing. But he was hardly a faceless, nameless, expendable soldier.

"Why are we just being informed?" Aknadin asked suddenly, quick to compose himself in the face of adversity.

"It just happened...all three incidents came to fruition as one." The guard continued to elaborate. "We hurried here as quickly as we could."

A light knock came from the threshold leading into the room. Everyone in the room rapidly turned to face a small, wiry man, looking confused and scared as he examined the overly busy room, his fist resting on the wall where he had knocked.

"Excuse me?" He began quietly. "What's going on?"

"There's been an incident." Aknadin said briskly, as Atemu stood rooted to the spot, paralysed by all this activity and confusion. "Are you here about Aknamkanon's condition?"

He nodded quickly. "Yes."

"Well, what?" Atemu demanded, snapping out of his state of inactivity, given knowledge concerning his father was the subject.

"Well...the Pharoah has fallen into...what we call a 'comatose' state. He's unconscious, asleep, and he's simply going to stay like that. He can't be awoken like a normal unconscious or asleep person can be. He's stuck there." The physician described.

"For how long?" Atemu asked, looking down at his father slowly, laying peacefully on the bed.

"Well, comatose states are completely unpredictable. He could wake up...now...tomorrow...a year, ten years...he could never wake up, and one day just die." The doctor said nervously, feeling a distinct 'kill the messenger' vibe from the unstable Atemu. "There's nothing we can do to accelerate the revival process. He's stable, all we can do is work to keep him there."

Atemu gulped down a load of bile, slowly walking towards the bed. "There's...there's nothing-"

"I'm sorry, Prince Atemu." The doctor said sadly. "At this point, we have no idea if he'll wake up or not, of when he'll wake up if he does." With that, he bowed and quickly backed out of the room, hoping to avoid any form of punishment for this message.

Atemu bit his lower lip, reaching his hand down to grab his father's hand, raising it up slightly. He felt the anger within him, replaced by sadness. He had been confronted by hard evidence that there was a good chance his father was, for all intents and purposes, dead. He couldn't even imagine such a world. He was in the middle of a reign marked by stability and happiness, by stern kindness and wise leadership. It wasn't his time...it couldn't be his time...

"Sir!" Came an exclamation from the doorway. Atemu snapped his head around to find yet another guard, cramming himself into the already-packed room. "I bring an important message!" He gasped, breathing heavily, attempting to catch his breath.

Atemu just stood there, rock still, for a few seconds, until nobody else responded. "Come in." He managed to squeak. "You two...you're excused." He said in barely a whisper, motioning towards the two guards. They bowed deeply and backed out of the room.

"The man who assassinated Rahotep had a message on his person, to be delivered to the Pharoah, apparently." He swallowed hard, then moved forward to present a small piece of rolled up parchment to Atemu.

Atemu glared at it for a few seconds, unsure of how to react, before slowly looking up to the messenger. He opened his mouth, then quickly closed it back up, not sure what to say.

"Go on, son." Amaunet said quietly, snapping Atemu's attention to her. "Take it. You're the Pharoah now."

"My father isn't dead yet." Atemu said reflexively. "No, I'm not. My father is still alive."

"He is incapable of acting as Pharoah. As such, you must succeed him." Amaunet said soothingly. "Please, Atemu. Just do it. We'll talk about your father's condition and status later."

Atemu gulped down some bile, then extended a shaking hand out for the slip of parchment. The guard extended it out further, assisting in the transfer. Atemu grabbed it, prying the end open with his fingernail and unrolling it.

He swallowed again, looking at the writing on it. "We need to talk. You can't bring your father back from the dead, but you can save yourself, your kingdom, and begin your own reign with a new influx of gold. Message us back soon, and further violence can be avoided." He slowly looked up at his mother and uncle. "Jacob."

Aknadin grunted. "I knew those Israelis loved their gold. I knew they were ruthless. But this-" he shook his head. "This is beyond crossing the line. You don't start aggressive negotiations by killing the Pharoah."

"Do they really believe we'd go into business with them...help them...after this?" Amaunet said to no one in particular.

Aknadin snorted. "Do we have a choice?" He stood up and began to pace about. "Who knows what else they're capable of? Especially during a shifting of power from one Pharoah to another. We're vulnerable and unstable. And they know it."

"Israel is such a distance away." Amaunet pointed out. "Do they really believe they can hold a war over such a long distance? Do they honestly believe they could consistantly count on stealth attacks to succeed over several countries?"

"They're backed by all surrounding countries." Aknadin theorized. "They need Egyptian cooperation for the narcotics trade to be all it can be."

Both Amaunet and Aknadin looked right at Atemu, who hadn't spoken since finishing the note.

"Honey, why don't you go to bed? It's late. I know your head must be...swimming right now. We can talk about what to do in the morning. I'll arrange for the priests to have an induction ceremony for you first thing tomorrow, and then we'll talk about this situation." Amaunet advised.

Atemu swallowed hard, yet again, then nodded slowly. And then, he stiffly marched out of the room, dearly hoping he might wake up right about now.

""""

"I'm sorry, Atemu." Seto said, trying to sound sympathetic, something he wasn't terribly good at. "I really am."

It was before sunrise, within Atemu's lavish room. Atemu hadn't been able to sleep well that night, for obvious reasons, so had decided to rise early and call in Seto to talk. He was seated on the bed, holding a half-dozen golden coins in his hand, flipping them around absentmindedly. Seto stood up before him, at attention, trying to adjust his demeanor to one of a person standing before the Pharoah.

"It's nobodies' fault." Atemu replied. "And stop standing like that. You're still my brother and my best friend, Seto. Nothing can change that."

Slowly, uneasily, Seto eased up, moving next to Atemu and sitting down on the bed next to him. "So what are you thinking?"

Atemu took a deep breath. "I'm thinking that I should have kept my mouth shut at that dinner. I'm thinking I shouldn't have had that party. I'm thinking I should have spent more time listening to the advice of my father over the years. It's times like this that magnify every mistake you've ever made, Seto."

"What's done is done." Seto insisted. "What matters now is how you respond to this, that's what people will remember."

"Are you sure about that?" Atemu said, rattling the coins in his hand. "There's a reason why their first move was to knock off my father. They knew I was hot for the drug deal because of what I said at that dinner."

"Are you still hot for it?" Seto asked.

"Yes." Atemu admitted. "But that's neither here nor there. If I take their offer, it's not because I want to make gold."

"When's the induction ceremony?" Seto asked.

"Sunrise." Atemu said quickly. "This isn't right. My father isn't dead yet."

"I actually did some reading last night." Seto said quickly. "In situations where a Pharoah is incapable of acting as ruler, the heir will take over, as if the Pharoah was dead. When the previous Pharoah is capable of acting as ruler again, the new Pharoah will have the option of either keeping his position or handing it back over."

"I see." Atemu said, nodding slightly. "I suppose I can't count on him to wake up in time to deal with this situation. He'd know what to do." He slipped the coin on the top of his small stack to the bottom, cleverly flipping it around in his fingers and settling it at the bottom.

"I think it'd be nice if you had a plan of action right after the coronation." Seto suggested. "For all we know they have sleeper agents all across Egypt, ready to kill more people."

Atemu blinked a few times, turning his gaze to the floor. "They think he's dead. The Israeli group, they think he's dead. We should keep it that way." He nodded to himself. "They might try to finish the job."

"We haven't yet made his condition public." Seto commented. "But we'll have to say something."

"You're right. We can't say he's dead, not to our own fellow Egyptians. We'll say he's in critical condition and fading, for now. That'll buy us some time. Once this situation is handled, we can say he's made a miraculous recovery. The Israelis won't attempt a second assassination if they believe the Pharoah is near dying on his own." Atemu spoke, slowly and thoughtfully.

"Sounds good." Seto admitted. "What else?"

Atemu was still looking down at the floor, giving everything he said a great amount of thought. "They've shown us what they're capable of. Right now, we're forced to believe they may have infiltrated our society. Three priests and an elite hitman, dead, and the Pharoah critically injured. Egypt and Israel are too far away for a long term war, be it open war or a stealth war. They have the backing of all other countries in this region, so even if we tried to go to war, they'd surround us and keep us far away from Israel."

"Are you sure the other countries back Israel to that degree?" Seto wondered. "Maybe they wish to be business partners, but will they risk war for it?"

"Egypt would be outnumbered greatly. They'd see it as an opportunity to destroy our kingdom. We're lucky they don't try it right now as it is. With backing from Israel, they'd crush us." Atemu pointed out.

Suddenly, a quiet creak sounded from the doorway leading into the bedroom. Seto and Atemu looked up to see Aknadin walking through the doorway, shutting it behind him.

"Good morning." Atemu said as Aknadin shuffled in.

"Hardly." His uncle said gruffly. "At least you're finally starting to admit it."

"How long have you been listening?" Atemu asked, looking up at Aknadin.

"Long enough to hear some surprisingly wise words from you." Aknadin said quickly. "Regardless, we need to talk."

"What do you want?" Atemu inquired, setting the coins down on the bed.

"Atemu...this situation is delicate. Very delicate." Aknadin began. "I have watched your father, my brother, build up this kingdom of Egypt. He expanded it, made it stronger. The people happier. He's worked very hard over the last ten years."

"I was right there with him, just as you." Atemu pointed out. "What are you getting at?"

"This is the greatest challenge any Pharoah has faced in hundreds of years. And he isn't here to resolve it." He took a short breath. "This is a great kingdom, Atemu." He moved to sit down on the bed, next to Atemu and across from Seto. "You're a eighteen year old boy, unprepared for even the generic duties of being a Pharoah. And here you are, looking at one of the greatest challenges in Egyptian history."

"Them the breaks." Atemu grunted.

"It doesn't have to be like that." Aknadin insisted. "Today, at the ceremony, hand over the Pharoah scepter to me. I was Aknamkanon's brother, you are still a boy, it will be completely understood."

"Can that even be done?" Seto asked, jumping into the conversation suddenly.

"Of course." Aknadin replied. "I don't want to disrespect you, but you're not ready for this sort of challenge. I have seen many things in my years, and I can ease Egypt through these times."

Atemu stared his uncle down for a few moments, then looked back down at the floor, pondering. "Aknadin. I have spent my entire life following the laws of Egypt. Every time I turned around, I was told to do something because...the law demanded as such. Now, the law demands I become Pharoah." Atemu looked back up at his uncle. "I've made some significant errors over the past week. I'd like the chance to redeem myself."

"That chance could come at the cost of this entire country." Aknadin replied. "You know as well as I do this needs to be done."

"I'm sorry, Aknadin." Atemu said simply. "I know you don't believe in me. I know I seemed terrified last night when I was unofficially named Pharoah. I know I'm young. I know you're experienced in these matters. And I know you love Egypt as much as anyone else. But I need you to-"

"Stop being ridiculous!" Aknadin yelled, standing back up. "This kingdom needs me." He hissed, pointing at Atemu. "I will not sit back idly and watch you rip Egypt to shreds in this time of adversity!"

"What do you plan on doing? Killing me?" Atemu asked lazily.

"I'll lead a rebellion." Aknadin said viciously, pacing now. "If you don't hand Pharoah responsibilities over to me, I swear I will! You think these people _want_ a child leading them right now?" He folded his hands over his chest. "I'll start a rebellion, and people will jump at the chance to be led by me."

"Funny." Atemu stood up, suddenly quite serious. "I never had you pegged as one so throne-hungry."

"To hell with that!" Aknadin yelled, throwing his arms to his sides. "If you don't have the wisdom to make the right choice here, I'll make it for you! Now, what's it gonna be?"

"A rebellion would certainly destroy Egypt. Are you selfish enough to do that?" Atemu asked, folding his own arms over his chest.

"I care enough to do that." Aknadin said. "Consider this the first decision of your reign as Pharoah. Do you have the wisdom to make the right one?"

Atemu glared at his uncle, sizing him up for a few moments. "Well. This is quite the situation." He slowly moved back towards the bed, as Seto watched in silence, not wishing to get involved. "I won't give you the throne, and you'll destroy Egypt from the inside. You can't stop me from taking the throne, and I can't stop you from destroying Egypt from the inside." He crossed one leg over the other, steepling his fingers in front of his face. "What we need is something we can both agree to."

"Correct. My suggestion is to get used to the idea of agreeing to give me the throne, because I will not let you destroy Egypt." Aknadin restated.

"You're a man of your word, aren't you?" Atemu asked, picking up the pile of gold next to him on the bed. "You wouldn't lie to your own nephew in a situation of significance, at least I don't think."

"I'm not a liar, if that's what you mean." Aknadin replied, beginning to calm down and level out.

"Alright. I'll give you a chance." Atemu said, dropping five of the gold coins to the sheets, leaving just one within his hand. "There's no logical way to solve this. So I suggest we turn it over to the gods." Slowly, he raised the coin up next to his face, showing the front of it to his uncle, who watched his movements closely. "What's the most you've ever lost on a coin toss?"

"Excuse me?" Aknadin asked, confused.

"A coin toss, uncle." Atemu said simply. "We can't solve this rationally. We're both too stubborn for that. So, let it be fate."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Aknadin spat. "You'd leave the throne to chance?"

"I'm not giving you the throne, uncle." Atemu said. "If you won't allow me the chance to act as Pharoah, you'll have no choice but to destroy this kingdom. And you don't want that. I know you don't. So, do you have a better idea for resolving this?"

Aknadin sputtered for a second, looking off to his right, mind racing. "We could ask the priests. Ask for their judgement. Agree to submit ourselves to their ruling-"

"Those biased minds?" Atemu interrupted. "We don't know what's in their heads. I won't turn this decision over to an unknown."

"But you'd turn it over to a coin?" Aknadin posed. "The ultimate unknown?"

"This coin," Atemu held the coin out towards Aknadin "will not lie, will not take threats, will not be bribed, and will not make a biased choice. It is incorruptible, completely oblivious to everything except the fifty fifty odds. There is no better judge."

Aknadin glared down at the shiny gold coin for a moment, then up at Atemu, lost for words.

"If you win the toss, I swear on the life of my father I'll hand you the throne and submit to your rule as Pharoah." Atemu continued. "I'm a man of my word, Aknadin. I hope you can believe me."

Aknadin took a deep, calming breath, closing his eyes as he did so. A few beats passed before he spoke again. "You're really not going to give me the throne willingly, are you?"

"No." Atemu answered, staring right into Aknadin's eyes, unblinkingly.

"Very well." Aknadin finally conceded. "Let it be known, that I still believe you are not yet fit to lead Egypt. However, I am a man of my word. If you win the toss, I swear on the life of my brother that I will submit to your rule as Pharoah, and will not lead a rebellion against you."

"I'm glad you could see reason." Atemu smiled. "Seto. If it was within your power to rig a coin toss, would you do so in favor of your best friend and brother, or your father?"

Seto looked at Atemu stupidly, blinking wildly, head spinning at this turn of events. "Atemu-"

Atemu tossed the coin over to Seto, which flew over and landed in his lap. He looked down at it, dumbfounded. "You know how to flip a coin, yes?"

Slowly, robotically, Seto reached down and grabbed it. He then stood up, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. "If you say so." He said softly. He then held the coin out in his open palm, side with the Pyramid symbol facing upward. "Top." He announced, voice shaking. He pushed his index finger up, pushing the coin up and causing it to flip in his hand, showing a blank side. "Bottom." He closed his hand into a fist, pulling it back towards himself. "One flip. Aknadin calls."

Atemu and Aknadin both nodded, indicating they agreed with the terms.

"In the air." Seto specified, using his other hand to grab the coin out of his fist and position it on top of his balled hand, his thumb under the coin. He looked at Atemu, then Aknadin, expecting one of them to suddenly protest this method of choosing the Pharoah. When neither said anything, he sprung his thumb, sending the coin spiraling through the air.

"Tails." Aknadin said clearly, watching the glinting golden object rotate rapidly.

Seto caught it, quickly closing his hand into a fist, hiding the result under his fingers. Again, he glanced to Atemu and Aknadin. "And if I could rig a coin toss, in this instance, I'd do so in favor of my father." He commented.

Atemu, Aknadin, and Seto couldn't help but all share in a smile at this, before the situation escalated back up to tense. Seto then opened his hand, revealing the golden coin, pyramid facing up.

Seto and Atemu both looked up at Aknadin, who stood there, stiff for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "Very well." He turned around slowly. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Atemu called after him, as he began to walk away. "I hope you'll remain within the inner circle."

"Of course, my young Pharoah. I wouldn't set you out to drift now." He said over his shoulder. "And Atemu." He paused for a moment, just a step beyond the threshold. "Please prove me wrong."

""""

Had you combined the visitors to all his previous birthday parties, you would still not have approached the total in attendance for the ceremony today. Not that Atemu was surprised, given the significance of this scenario, but it was awe inspiring. The sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains to the east, shining on the town, bathing the palace entrance in a golden light. At the top of these steps, Atemu stood, feeling quite silly. He wore a false beard of goat's hair, held a sceptre shaped like a shepherd's crook, and also held a fly whip. Furthermore, he wore a Shemset apron and his back was protected by a 'bull's tail' hanging from his waist. These things represented, respectively, the god Osiris, his new status as ruler, his power and authority, and his strength. It was all too much, but tradition was tradition. And it was almost over. Just a few more words to be spoken.

The High Priest, Hortep, stood before him, holding a White Crown called the 'Hedjet.' He looked about at the people in attendance, feeling the somber glare, as a wise, veteran ruler was replaced by a child, in a time of turbulance.

"And so, to unite the new Pharoah with the gods he is descendent from, to give him the power to maintain cosmic and earthly order, we bring unto him the royal ka." He threw his hands about dramatically in front of Atemu. "It has passed from Pharoah to Pharoah over the years...and now, it is yours."

Atemu nodded, closing his eyes, then slowly going down on one knee in front of the High Priest.

"Now, Pharoah Atemu, feel it. From this day forth, consider yourself the son of Ra, God of the Sun, Horus, Falcon God, and Osiris, God of Life, Death, and Fertility. Now, Pharoah Atemu, you are truly divine. One with these great gods."

Atemu stood back up slowly, again nodding.

"Now, Pharoah Atemu, your coronation is complete. May your reign be long, prosperous, and without incident." Hortep finished, bowing over to him before backing away.

Behind Atemu, the crowd erupted into a mighty roar of approval, throwing their fists up into the air as they did so.

And in that moment, Atemu felt suddenly responsible for every one of them.


	5. Leave the Knife

Chapter 5: Leave the Knife

""""

Fair or not, when I don't get reviews on the chapters, I assume I did something wrong that alienated my fanbase. Especially when I get reviews early on.

Just saying. If you read it and you like what you see, or you have something to mention, please review! It motivates me to continue writing the story. Even better, hit me up on MSN or AIM.

Just sayin. Glad to see people like it so far more or less.

""""

"So clearly, you were up last night thinking about this." Priest Marlin said, seated on the simple cushion on the raised platform. The meeting room was composed of a circular table, with several raised platforms and cushions like this around it. The front of the table played host to a slightly more regal throne, where the Pharoah currently sat. Usually, only six or seven of the platforms were occupied, but today there were twelve filled. Atemu had chosen to keep his father's old inner circle, but also bring in the young priests he planned to make his own inner circle one day. So things were less than comfortable, with old veterans and young rookies mixing.

"Certainly." Atemu concurred. "But I'm still not certain on how to react."

"Our armies and defenses are strong." Mahad insisted. "I say, we strike back at those Israelis, and buckle down for a defense of Egypt if need be. We can hold off any attack."

"Can I propose that everyone under twenty one years of age who is _not_ the Pharoah hold their silence?" Priest Mundas suggested. "Because you really don't know what you're talking about."

"It so happens to be on the Pharoah's request we're here." Isis interjected, grimacing. "I'm sure he doesn't want us here just so we can be silent.'

"Regardless." Aknadin diverted, waving his hand dismissively, seated to the direct right of Atemu. "The first step has to be to send a message to the Israelis before they strike again."

Atemu nodded. "Yes. But what shall the message be?"

"That depends on the plan." Priest Jiren said. "I think we need to consider complying to their demands and going into the narcotics trade."

"And let the attacks go unpunished?" Karim questioned. "How would that look to the surrounding countries? To our own countrymen?"

"I merely think compounding this situation won't help anything, and swallowing our pride for the greater good has to be considered." Jiren replied.

"How sure are we the surrounding countries would back Israel in a war?" Priest Zilen asked. "Maybe they want to go in on the drugs, but how badly?"

"Pretty sure." Atemu said. "There's a lot of gold involved, not just now, but in the years to come. Drugs are certainly the wave of the future. As long as we threaten to put a damper on the deal, they'll back Israel." Atemu suddenly pushed himself up slightly on his throne. "But if the deal was to be killed off...if the Israeli group was to suddenly become unable to lead and finance this venture...there would be no motivation for the other countries to get involved. And there's not even a guarantee Israel would seek vengance."

"Interesting." Mundas mused. "So...you think if the Israeli group was to be...knocked off, we could claim our revenge and avoid further issues, Pharoah?"

"The group is made up of six individuals. Jacob, Daniel, David, Joel, Gabriel, and Michael." Marlin listed from memory. "If they were to meet their end, their massive funds would likely pass on to an assortment of family members who have little to no interest in these affairs."

"We don't need to kill all of them." Seto further reasoned, sitting to the direct left of Atemu. "Just enough to put a significant enough damper on their fund situation. Just enough to scare them off."

"Yes." Atemu said slowly. "Yes, that's it. We'll send them a message, saying we wish to meet. We'll request the meeting takes place with no guards or protection for either side, in a neutral location. Ideally, it'll be me and Aknadin meeting with their two top members. No guards, no spies, no undercover agents. Just us four, meeting somewhere." He propped his head up on his fist, his elbow laying on the armrest. "Somewhere public. Perhaps in Mongolia. Somewhere far east. Obviously, it will be assumed I wish to agree to the narcotics deal, so they'll accept my terms." He blinked a few times, thoughtfully. "I'll make arrangements for the location to contain what I need. And then, when the time is right...I'll kill them both."

Silence engulfed the room as every pair of eyes was on Atemu, as he sat there, indifferent, as if he made an innocent comment about the carpet color.

Aknadin decided to break the silence by trying to continue the conversation as if Atemu hadn't said anything. "Yes, I'd say killing...three would be enough to send a message. However, you can't rule out the possibility of the funds simply staying within the group, until the group is completely abolished-"

"Aknadin." Atemu said quietly, looking down at his right hand's fingernails. "I've already given our solution."

Aknadin sighed dramatically, looking around the room at everyone else before continuing. "You can't be serious, Pharoah."

Slowly, Atemu turned his head towards Aknadin. "And why can't I be?"

"Look, Pharoah. I know you want to get these guys back for what they did to your father." Mundus joined in. "But you putting yourself at risk like that is insane. We have assassins for this sort of thing."

"We'll never get to them. Not in time." Atemu reasoned. "I will not sit by and wait for an opportunity to present itself when it would be possible to create one."

"Look. I know you're new to this. But Pharoahs don't assassinate people." Aknadin explained. "They send people to assassinate for them. They hide in their protective palaces as trained assassins do their bidding. Pharoahs don't assassinate people."

"That's why it's going to work." Atemu countered. "That's why they won't see it coming. That's why they'll agree to a meeting in a neutral location without guards. It's our only shot at getting them out in the open."

"And if you fail?" Jiren suggested. "You don't have much training here, what if you...you...miss, and you end up getting killed?"

"A sneak attack on two completely unsuspecting businessmen?" Atemu reasoned. "If I...miss, I deserve to get killed."

Mundus gave a great sigh. "This crosses all the lines, Atemu. The outrage over this strategy is going to stretch all across the known world."

"So be it." Atemu said. "Of course, we'll be sending covert assassins to Israel to try and knock off as many members of this group as possible. But we can't depend on them to succeed. They're too well protected, and they'll see it coming. This will be our ace in the hole. I can guarantee two of their six dead. Furthermore, if I feign a message that claims I'm willing to sign onto the deal, they'll let their guard down. That may give us the opening we need to kill off the rest of them." He looked around at the table, left to right, slowly. "None of you may like the implications here, but I think you all well know it's the only course of actions we can take."

There was another din of silence all around the table, as everyone looked at one another slowly, thinking.

"Look, the narcotics venture is the key to everything. We can't just wound it, or this entire continent will unite against us. We have to kill it. Kill it, and it won't be worthwhile for other countries to attack us." Atemu ended.

"Alright, Pharoah Atemu." Zilen finally said. "You've sold me. But if this doesn't work-"

"It will work, Zilen." Atemu assured. "I may be royalty, but I can still stab someone from point blank range."

"Alright, Pharoah." Aknadin finally spoke. "I suppose I'll bite." He gave a small smile. "Crazy times call for crazy measures."

"Can someone take a note?" Atemu asked. Immediately, Buhen pulled out a quill and piece of parchment from the folds of his robes, placing both down on the table. Atemu smiled and nodded at him, before looking forward again. "So be it. We'll meet, on my terms. Neutral location, and only two of your men present. Only me and my advisor present. No guards, no security, just two of yours and two of ours. I want to sign on to this deal as soon as possible, so come prepared for that. If it makes no difference to you, I've always wanted to see Mongolia." He nodded again. "Sound good? I want to suggest a public place as the meeting grounds. A place to eat." He stood up suddenly, pushing off the armrests. "Ask the scholars to find such a location."

"Are you sure they'll go for it?" Shada asked. "It sounds just a little...funny. Forced. Suspicious."

"Hey." Atemu said, looking over at Shada, to his left. "Pharoahs don't assassinate people. Remember?"

""""

"So, what if the Israelis end up having hidden guards at the location? What if you show up and they've got a half dozen soldiers with them?" Seto quizzed Atemu, as he leaned against the wall next to the large window in Atemu's bedroom, and Atemu sat on the chair at his workdesk.

"I call it off. The meeting proceeds as they expect it to, and I sign on. We'll make our move later, after we've convinced them we're sold into this." Atemu responded. "They lie to us, I won't feel too bad about us lying to them."

"Good. But what if they have undercover men at the location and you aren't aware?" Seto continued.

"We'll scout the location beforehand. But I'm really not concerned about this. They won't risk this deal, there's too much gold involved." Atemu reasoned. "I'm confident they'll submit to our terms."

"And...let's say the remaining four continue this venture." Seto said. "It's within reason."

"Hopefully, they've been lulled to sleep by our message. While I am away, assassins will be sent for the other four. Before I kill the two I meet, attempts will have been made on the lives of the other four. I don't count on it, but I would hope at least one attempt succeeds. If more, wonderful. All we need is enough damage done to scare off the Israelis." Atemu quickly replied.

"And if we don't do enough damage?" Seto pressed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Then we go to the swords." Atemu said, standing up. "We'll play defense, and defense only. Protect our borders. We should be able to hold out for some time. I'd say two years at least. My father worked hard at building our defenses."

"You've thought this through." Seto admitted. "You've done some significant growing up in the last three days."

"They tried to kill my father, Seto." Atemu replied, in a monotone, turning to glare right at him. "It changes you, seeing something like that."

"You think there's a good chance we go to the swords?" Seto asked. "I mean, even if we can hold back the armies...what about assassination attempts? Stealth attacks?"

"So be it." Atemu said, his eyes slightly glazing over. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. During the time our defenses buy us, we'll be launching our own stealth assassination attempts on the Isreali group, until we've either wiped them out or caused them to end the narcotics venture." He tugged at his cloak, draped over his shoulders, pulling it back towards his chest. "And don't ask me what happens if that fails, Seto." He gave a small smirk. "You don't want to know."

"So," Seto began, pacing around Atemu's back slowly, "you recognize the worst case scenario...you just choose to ignore it." He placed his hand on the Pharoah's shoulder. "I wonder how much of a driving factor your criticially wounded father is on this decision." He cocked his left eyebrow. "I'd say you're taking it...very personally."

"Sir!" Came a cry from the hallway just outside the room. A moment later, a guard hustled in through the doorway, sandals beating away at the floor. "The Israelis have written back!" With that, he thrust a scroll towards Atemu, slowing to a walk towards his Pharoah.

"Thank you." Atemu said, extending his right arm forward to take it. The guard continued forward, laying the scroll into his hand, then went down on one knee to bow before backing out of the room.

Quickly, Atemu pulled the scroll apart, opening up the parchment, revealing the writing inside. "Very well." He began to read. "Mongolia it is. At the location you requested, with the terms you requested. I hope we can hammer this out quickly and to the satisfaction of us both. We shall meet in three days, when the sun reaches it's highest point. I know this is a long trip, so be ready to make a landmark deal." He closed the scroll, nodding to no one in particular. "I should get moving. It's a long trip by all standards."

He began to move away from Seto, towards the door on the other side of the room. A few steps from the door, he turned around to look back at Seto, slowly.

"And Seto." He said, looking straight at his brother. "It's not personal. It's strictly business."

""""

"One more time, if you please?" Seth asked the Pharoah.

They had arrived, just hours before. It had been a long and difficult journey. The trek through the desert, anything touching the ground in danger of sinking into the sands, with nothing around for miles and miles that Atemu had any interest in seeing. There were large, rocky mountains, practically vertical at points, requiring actual climbing tools as the rocks threatened to crumble at any moment. Here, Atemu got to see strange creatures you didn't see in Egypt. Four-legged, horned animals that could simply walk and run up and down the mountains, somehow. Others were smaller than his forearm, with bellies that dragged across the ground and long tongues for catching prey. Then, there was even rainforest, complete with all sorts of insects that would nip and bite at any exposed flesh that wasn't moving. And the cats were so much more massive and fierce here! Fortunately, none of his men were lost on the way, and now, they had arrived in Mongolia. Civilization, though it offered no special welcome to the Pharoah. He asked for none, nor did he want any. Today was about more than being a Pharoah.

"I enter the bar with Aknadin and the two Israelis. We sit at any of the tables, get drinks, and begin to act as if we meant what we wrote." Atemu began. They stood in an alleyway between two buildings, shadows casting over the pair heavily. "We discuss the details of the deal, as they would expect. Preferably, I'd wait for an opportune moment. When the path to the door is clear, when the employees at the bar are not present, or when the place is particularly empty. Under every table in the bar, there is a knife attached to the bottom. I will slowly reach to grab it, careful not to attract attention. The knife is extremely thin and blends in with the table bottom, so only someone with intent to find it will locate it. And then, when the moment is right, I remove it and stab the one closest to me in the neck. I should attempt to locate the vein to ensure heavy blood loss and quick death, but must also turn the blade over onto the second as fast as I can."

"Good." Seth commended. Seth was the leader of the two dozen soldiers brought along on the journey, the color of his headpiece, a dark red, indicating this. "After the initial jabs, if the situation allows, you may want to slit the wrists of both men to guarantee death. If not, just please try to hit the veins in the neck and you should be fine." He bowed to his Pharoah. "And then?"

"Drop the knife. Leave with Aknadin. Don't run, walk. Don't look scared or excited. Give the implication this is business as usual. You've killed before, you just killed now, and you'd kill again if anyone tries to get between you and the exit." Atemu repeated. "I've got it."

"Of course...many things could go wrong." Seth warned. "If they do?"

"If they bring extra guards, sign the deal and live to fight another day. If they're armed, Aknadin assists me. If anyone in the bar tries to stop me, avoid them and get out of there. And so on and so forth." Atemu rattled off.

"And once the deed is done, we leave. No time for checking out Mongolia." Seth insisted, holding the index finger of his right hand up. "No matter what happens, understood?"

"Of course." Atemu said. "You're giving a Pharoah orders now?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Today, sir, you're not a Pharoah in full." Seth reminded him. "Now, best of luck. It shouldn't be long."

"I don't want any of our men within view of the bar. That's the thing that concerns me most. Them chickening out if they see something odd. So make sure everyone clears out." Atemu ordered before stepping away, down the alleyway to the south, towards the bar.

"Leave the Knife!" Seth called out one last time at Atemu's backside.

As he came back out to be bathed in sunlight, in the bustling streets of Mongolia, he was joined by Aknadin, who came to stand at his side.

"When I approached you to ask for the throne, it was exactly this sort of thing that motivated me." Aknadin said under his breath, casting his eyes about the crowd moving about the dirt street.

"Didn't we come to the understand that this was the only way back home?" Atemu asked, crossing his hands over his chest, his eyes out on the street. "Would you have tucked your tail between your legs and kneeled before this Israeli scum?"

"I'm just saying...this is completely ridiculous!" He said back. "...but, I commend you. It takes guts to make this call. And maybe a little bit of inexperience and rash thinking, but maybe you're right."

"Thank you." Atemu responded.

"Greetings!" Came a cry from their right.

The pair turned their heads to face two short, plump men, clad in robes of white and blue. Atemu recognized neither as Jacob.

"I am Gabriel." The one on the right indicated, then motioned towards his right. "This is Joel. As you requested, two of the six leaders of this narcotic endeavor." He gave a large smile, showing off some gold teeth.

"Indeed. As I promised, myself and my uncle. Aknadin." Atemu indicated, gesturing towards his uncle. "Shall we?" He then began stepping towards the bar that had been planned on.

"As you wish." Gabriel responded, moving behind Atemu and Aknadin. Pushing through the crowd, slowly moving through spaces as they were allowed, they managed to work themselves through the doorway of the bar. A wooden structure, very dark once inside, smelling heavily of alcohol and sweat. Several tables built for four made up a majority of the space, with a couple of smaller ones along the outer edges and one long bar extending across the right wall, with stools along it. Most of the tables held cups, with various amounts of beer within.

The quartet selected a table close to the entrance, Atemu quickly making sure he possessed the chair on the opposite side so he could have a good view of the entrance without looking odd. Aknadin took the seat next to him, leaving Gabriel and Joel with the seats closer to the door. They took their seats quickly, pulling themselves up to the table, putting their arms up on it.

For several moments, they all looked amongst each other, back and forth. How was a conversation like this supposed to start, exactly? Everyone waited for someone else to start it.

Finally, Joel decided to begin. "So...you wish to join our endeavor?" He asked awkwardly.

"Of course he does, Joel." Gabriel said, glancing over at his friend. "That's why we're here." He added, looking back at Atemu.

Atemu put his elbow up on the table and his palm up to his chin, leaning on his arm. "Indeed. Given the turn of events of the last few days, clearly I have no choice but to submit to your requests."

Gabriel looked down at the table for a split second before looking back up and speaking. "Yes. Now, Pharoah...it was with a heavy heart I ordered your father to be killed. He was a good man, and a wise leader. Unfortunately, he was unwilling to adjust his beliefs with the time. These narcotics are...clearly the wave of the future. The new medium through which the common man will enjoy life and the rich man will become richer. It really is going to change the world in ways very drastic."

"I concede." Atemu said, running his other hand through his hair. "I must agree with you here."

"Yes." Gabriel continued. "So, when your father turned us down...he wasn't just saying no on his behalf. Not even on Egypt's behalf. Indeed, thanks to the power and land Egypt holds, he was saying no to the entire world. By his saying no, the growth of the entire world for the future had been stunted." He moved in closer to Atemu. "Now. Who is to say that any man, no matter how great, should have the right to stunt the growth of this entire civilization?"

"Who's to say any man should have the right to end the life of another over a personal choice?" Atemu replied, slowly moving his hand under the table, feeling around for a small imperfection in the surface.

"All men in power have such a right." Gabriel insisted. "As you will soon learn, as Pharoah. Men in power order others to be killed every day. It has become as routine as eating or sleeping. For the greater good of the civilization, sometimes people must die." He looked around slowly, then moved even closer towards Atemu. "So, what I mean to say is...your father was killed because it was good for mankind. Not because he was limiting the...the amount of profit involved in my business. Not because he refused my offer. But because you taking the throne at this particular time represented the change required to move mankind forward."

Atemu paused for a moment, glancing over at Aknadin, before sitting back in his chair, backing away from Gabriel. His fingers had found the knife under the table, so all he had to do was pick his spot. "And what's an Israeli group of businessmen doing, being so concerned about mankind?" Atemu finally spoke. "Now, Gabriel, I might be young when compared to most other people you talk to concerning business, but I'm not stupid. I wasn't born yesterday. I know how things work up in Israel, and I know how things work in your business. My father never did anything but work hard to provide the best for Egypt. Maybe I didn't agree with him. Maybe most didn't. But the man had his reasons. He could see the future in a narcotic filled world." He glanced over at Joel, who was hanging onto his every word, then looking back to Gabriel. "It's all about filling your pockets with more gold, Gabriel. That's all anything ever is with your kind. Killing my father was all about profit and bottom line. So, don't come at me with your self-righteous speech about how my father was some sort of...virus to mankind. A destructive agent, hellbent on restricting this civilization from growth. Because that's not what this is about."

Gabriel gave a false, large smile, laughing uneasily, putting his hands out to his sides. "Young Pharoah...I can't make you believe anything. But please, at least remember what I had to say. Right now, maybe you don't understand. That's fine. But one day, you will realize that your father's death was...timely. He was a good man, but we all need to go sometime. And one day, you will look back and see your father went at the right time for mankind." He cleared his throat. "Now, how about-"

The table's tense mood was suddenly lifted by a pleasant voice from their right. Everyone looked up to see a man wearing a green apron and holding up a tray loaded with wooden cups. He pointed up towards it, speaking in his native dialect.

Atemu, making no attempt to understand the strange language, simply reached down with his left hand into the folds of his robe and produced a stack of golden coins. He presented them to the man, who greedily took them and set the tray down on the previously empty table. With a bow, he walked away quickly.

"...about the details of the deal." Gabriel concluded.

Joel pulled up a scroll from within his own robes, unrolling it so he could view the contents. "Now, I don't know how well you remember what Jacob described to your father some days ago, so I think we should go over everything again."

Atemu reached towards the tray, grasping a cup in his hand and pulling it towards him. Without any trepidation, he took a sip. It tasted...rough, unrefined. His face wrinkled up in displeasure as he set the cup down.

"I can't believe you paid for that crap!" Gabriel commented, laughing to himself. "It's commoner beer, of course it's awful. If any of the guys in this bar ever tasted a drop of decent beer, they'd never be able to go back."

"Indeed." Atemu grunted. "Look. I understand what happened to my father was...about business. I know it wasn't some sort of...personal grudge. It wasn't because you didn't like him. But all the same, don't try to say it was about mankind. It was about gold. You killed a Pharoah over gold." He pointed an accusing finger at Gabriel with his left hand, even as his right gripped the knife under the table. "I should tell you, if I felt I had a choice, I would not go into business with such a man."

"Again, you are young, Pharoah Atemu." Gabriel responded. "You don't understand how things work. So maybe gold factored into our decision...to some degree. I can admit that. I'm a selfish man, who wants great riches. But this wasn't pocket change! This was...a lot of gold. I know you know that. I wouldn't kill any man over pocket change. But when you talk about these sort of sums...you have to play hardball. People die over amounts such as this. Anyone can die, Pharoah. When you talk about such amounts, you're talking about playing hardball." He leaned forward again, towards Atemu, slowly. "As Pharoah, you'll have to understand this one day. The sooner, the better. When you make decisions of the magnitude that we make on a routine basis, you have to be willing to kill people. That's hardball. And you, as Pharoah, must be willing to play hardball."

"Fair enough." Atemu said, ripping the knife from it's holding spot under the table, feeling a satisfying rip as the adhesive liquid ripped away under his pull. Before this strange sound could be reacted to, his hand flew out from under the table, gripping the knife, blade pointing in towards the table.

Gabriel was leaning in close enough for this to be an easy task. With a simple swing of his arm inside, towards his body, the knife was pushed into his neck, in the area of his vein. As expected, blood spurted out of the fresh wound, blowing away from the table in little spits, an expression of great surprise still carved on Gabriel's face.

Quickly, Atemu roughly used his left hand to push Gabriel to the side, then lunged across the table with the blade aimed at Joel. He had no reaction for this series of events. It was completely unexpected, and considered out of the question entirely. Pharoahs didn't kill people.

So all Joel could do was sit there, in shock, as Atemu drove the blade into his neck and produced similar blood spurts, his heart pumping blood out of the wound and sealing his own fate inevitably. He opened his mouth, gasping for air, robotically reaching up towards the abrasion as Atemu ripped the knife from the injury.

Aknadin stood up quickly, pushing away from the table. Atemu backed off from Joel, turning down to look at Gabriel. He was laying down on the floor, his mouth gaping open as he stared at Atemu. The blood continued to pour from his neck, pooling around him. He closed his mouth, then reopened it, seemingly trying to say something, but was unable to.

Satisfied that the job was done, Atemu stuck the knife into the wooden table with the satisfying thock as blood dribbled down the metallic edge. A din of silence had been cast over everyone within the bar, staring at the scene, too scared to panic or act.

Shooting looks at everyone on his way, Atemu followed Aknadin towards the door. He could hear a loud crash, causing him to look over to his left, just in time to see a tray of beer cups crash to the floor, spilling across the wooden planks of the floor. No one else reacted in the slightest to this mini-disaster.

"Sorry about the mess." He commented to the waiter who had dropped the collection of beer cups. In a smooth motion, he pulled a small gold bar from a packet attached to his belt and flipped it towards him. The valuable block landed with a thud at his feet. No one even noticed the gold, eyes still on the murderer and his accomplish as they briskly walked through the entrance, back out into the unsuspecting crowd, ready again to see those strange horned animals, those ridiculously massive insects, and perhaps even those bellydraggers with the long tongue.

""""


	6. This Means War

Chapter Six: This means war

"Mother!" Atemu cried, quickly stepping across the tiles of the main hall, towards his mother on the opposite side, having just emerged from the palace itself. She walked toward her son even faster, moving quickly to meet him.

Unexpectedly, Atemu was met with a vicious slap across the face from his mother when they met, not the reunion he had in mind. His face beginning to sting with the welt of the hit, he turned back to look at her.

"I'm told by a generic, faceless, nameless, unimportant guard that my son has decided to travel thousands of miles to commit murder?" He hissed, a nasty frown on her face, arms now crossed over her chest.

"I had meant for Seto to tell you." Atemu replied, holding his palms up towards his mother in defense. "I'll be sure to have a talk with him."

"Oh...**you** should be the one telling me these things!" She yelled, pointing an accusing right index finger at her son. "You are my son! You are the Pharoah! What has gotten into your mind?"

"I did what had to be done. I knew you wouldn't understand, as is the nature of women." Atemu said dismissively, walking past her and towards the palace. His mother whipped her head around to glare at the back of his head, cheeks puffing indignantly as retorts died in her throat to the sound of strangled yelps.

"Besides." He added, spinning around, continuing to head towards the palace by walking backwards, pointing at himself up and down. "I'm fine." He smirked before spinning back around and walking off, leaving a further infuriated mother behind.

Almost as soon as he had left the main hall and entered the great palace of Egypt, he was greeted by Seto, in a much more civilized fashion. As soon as he had walked through the threshold, his cousin greeted him with a dignified hug, coming up from just to the right of the connecting path between the hall and belly of the mansion.

"Good to see you." Seto remarked, pulling away from the hug. "Alive." He added, stepping back. "So, how was it?"

"How was it?' Atemu repeated, holding his hands out at his sides. "Seto, this was hardly a vacation, if you've forgotten. I mean, I really only did one thing on my trip, and the fact that I stand here before you, alive, says all that needs to be said."

"So it is done?" Seto asked.

"Yes. Gabriel and Joel, won't be seeing them anymore." Atemu explained, beginning to walk towards the hallway on the right side of the room, which would snake further into wings of the palace. "Now, how are things here?"

"Two." Seto replied quickly, walking beside Atemu into the halls. "We were fortunate. As you expected, security wasn't their main concern after we sent our message. They are still reasonably well protected men, as their job calls for it, but it was hardly the first thing on their minds."

"How sure are we?" Atemu further inquired.

"Positive." Seto answered, nodding. "The hits were made in public places, in front of people. Israel may have tried to cover it up, or at least obscure the truth, but an event like that gets around. Furthermore, we had spies make sure. Only two members of the group remain, I promise it."

"Good." Atemu looked over at the stone wall to his left as he walked. "What happens now?"

"The group was made up of six individuals who simply came together to work towards increasing their fortune. Their relations do not stretch beyond simple business. As such, the individual fortunes passed onto family members, not to the partners. Furthermore, resources and manpower were obtained by the group through connections of each individual member, so such things were also lost." Seto explained.

"How reliable is this information?" Atemu quickly asked, eyes darting back towards Seto.

Seto shrugged lightly. "Spies. Informants. It's almost never completely trustworthy, but you've got to go on something." He cleared his throat. "However, these businessmen have deep pockets and a web of connections. They'll have to draw on them further to accomplish their goals, but it is within them. I suggest we prepare for war against them, with all surrounding countries siding with them." Seto nodded grimly. "Prepare."

"They must be terrified, if nothing else." Atemu said, right hand up on his chin. "They're businessmen, living with the fear of being struck down at any time."

Finally, they turned to the right, into an alcove in the hallway that led to a staircase. They began to climb up the stone planks automatically, not taking their focus off the conversation.

"I shouldn't say any more for now." Atemu said. "We'll call a meeting with the rest of the inner circle and discuss things there."

Seto nodded. "Naturally." He stopped in the middle of the fight of stairs, as Atemu continued up them, heading for his room. "And Atemu." He said, looking up at the Pharoah, as he turned around to look down at Seto, awaiting the pending statement. "No matter what happens now...you did the right thing. Don't forget that."

"We'll see." Atemu replied warily, before turning back up the stairs to continue his trek upwards.

""""

"_Damnit!_" Aknadin spat, hands on his hips, teeth gritted, looking down at the ground. "I was positive they'd lose their nerve if we managed to hit four!" He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them with the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

The inner circle had gathered within the traditional meeting room. Aknadin was standing up to express his frustration with the situation, but otherwise everyone was seated around the circular table. Symbolic of the difference in mindsets that the two groups brought, to the right of Atemu sat all the senior members, and to his left were all his childhood friends and priests in training.

"We planned for this." Atemu insisted, his right elbow on the armrest and his head resting against his right hand. "We go to the blades, as I more or less expected."

"David and Michael remain." Silen reminded the room. "We may have underestimated their individual wealth." He kicked up his right leg and placed it over his left knee, crossing them. "I can't see any future attempts at assassinating them succeeding."

"We'll continue to try." Atemu said shortly. "We just need to get lucky once, and we have many assassins up to the task. It's the only way to end this. These Israelis are businessmen, who care for only money and themselves. It won't be their armies sent to attack us."

Jiren entered the conversation. "What of the Israeli government? Perhaps we could get them to see the potential downside of housing the men who ordered attacks on Egypt. Perhaps we could force them out of the country, get them on the run."

"They're Israel natives with mountains of gold. Not a chance. I expect to have to deal with them the same as any surrounding country." Atemu replied. "I want triple security on all members of the royal family and high ranking members of the government, I'm sure they'll attack us wherever they can. Double security on the civilians, fully man the borders of the country. If we're attacked I want the information relayed instantly to the inner circle, so we'll need priests and Flo Crystals everywhere. Remember, we don't attack. We defend only. Nothing can be gained by attacking neighboring countries, our real enemies are in Israel."

"Sounds good." Aknadin conceded. "You've been putting some thought into this."

"What else is there to think about?" Atemu said, pushing up from the chair at the head of the table. "Seto, I'd like to speak with you privately."

Slowly, those seated at the table rose and moved away, towards the lone entrance and exit from the secretive chamber. Atemu simply stood and moved to the side as everyone sans Seto left, who simply stood up and remained rooted to the spot. After a minute, the room was empty except for these two, waiting for the door to clank shut on the chamber before speaking.

After the echoing clank sounded off through the room, Atemu began. "Seto." He folded his arms over his chest. "You remember my birthday?"

"Of course." Seto replied. "How could I forget?"

"There...was a girl." Atemu continued. "I don't know if you saw her, but I spent some time with her before..." he trailed off.

"I think I recall." Seto said. "What of her?"

He swallowed, looking off towards his left at the blank wall that made up the chamber. "I think I'd...like to see her again." He settled on.

"You don't say." Seto leaned back against the table.

"I think there was more to be said between us. We were having fun talking." Atemu continued.

"Well, it'd be a shame if you wound up spending any period of time in conversation with this girl only for it to not result in any form of coitus." Seto said.

"Could you kindly find out where she lives?" Atemu asked,

"Of course." Seto said, nodding shortly. "I'll make every effort."

""""

Usually, you wanted to be stationed on patrols around the country border. You got paid just as much as the soldiers who actually had to launch assaults on enemy territories and got basically the same level of treatment and status. You got some good time to yourself, just sitting inside the guard houses that had become very nice places to hang out over the years. Officially, you were supposed to key a constant eye out on the endless, stretching sand dunes outside, but if you were to engage in a game of 'Senet', do some pleasure reading, or even start an impromptu Olympic competition with the other nearby guards, nobody had to be the wiser. And nobody had to care.

The nature of the surrounding area was such that, barring burrowing under the sand for many miles, any approaching enemies would be spotted long before they were a threat. So long as you glanced around every now and then, it wasn't a problem. Usually, all the guards had to do was simply be there, and they were doing their job as well as they needed to.

One of the prides and joys of Egypt was the massive wall of stone and mortar that encircled the city. Two feet thick and twenty-five feet tall, a light brown in color and featuring guard towers every twenty feet, each containing an assortment of close range and long range weaponry. Maces, swords, spears, bow and arrow...all the smartest engineers of the world had to offer. Thanks to the presence of this wall, any ill-wishing country would need to plan for many days of battling and bring many thousands of soldiers just to get into Egypt. Thanks to this wall, even if there were only about forty guards posted per linear mile around the country, a minimum of two thousand soldiers were required to even consider an attack. So being posted by yourself wasn't even a concern, since anyone who dared to attack would either be sending a large force or none at all.

Today, however, none of that mattered. The outer limits of Egypt were covered with soldiers and guards, and not a one of them dared to let their focus drop. The order had been called in. Not a order. The order.

The reserve forces had been called to the lines, increasing the manpower at the borders to the twenty-five times the usual. Blades usually buried within sheaths and in stacks were out and in the ready. Inspite of the massive show of force at the borders, inspite of the great walls surrounding Egypt, and inspite of the many more soldiers within the country, it was coming.

They were there to stave off an inevitable attack that could come from any where at any time. Not to simply make a showing of great numbers to deter attacks. It was coming, and that was that. Or so the higher-ups said.

"I dunno." Said Rahap, one of the many largely faceless and nameless soldiers who would be guarding the borderlines. "You'd have to be one stupid general to try ordering an attack on Egypt right now."

"They dropped the bomb." Replied Mery back, rubbing his right thumb back and forth on his blade, looking off into the desert. "That's what I heard, man. Kid Pharoah wasn't thrilled about his old man getting hit, so he did something. So it's on. Could be for the long haul. All out war."

"What did he do?" Rahap pressed. "Nobody seems to know."

"I heard it was the Italians." Mery said thoughtfully. "Something about wheat fields. They felt some Egyptians had been stealing from their wheat supplies, so they decided to hit the Pharoah." He nodded. "They must really like their wheat. Anyway, Atemu felt turnabout was fair play, so he had hundreds of acres of wheat fields burned. And now, it's on."

"No no no no no." Said the man standing behind Mery from Rahap's perspective, further left down the line, who went by the name Imph. "It was Algeria. They thought we were taking their women. So after the hit, Atemu took out like a dozen of their senators and blew up a building where they held political meetings."

"But it don't matter if it's on or not." Rahap insisted. "The bottom line is, this country is impenetrable right now. This wall, the patrols...nothing's getting through, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows it."

"It's not one on one. It's supposed to be a whole buncha countries. Dunno why, but we could be getting it from any direction, and the forces could be huge." Mery pointed out.

"They're still not getting through. Any half-decent strategist can tell you that." Rahap continued.

"It's like a rock on the beach." Imph said, holding his upturned palm out in front of him. "The waves keep hitting it, and to the casual observer, the waves ain't doing jack. They're just beating and beating on that rock, and the rock is just laying there. Yeah, it's wet, but the rock is fine. But over the years, the rock actually starts to...like, shrink. It gets hit by the waves a trillion times and you can see it's been shrunk. It's been warped."

"Bullshit, man." Mery interrupted. "That don't happen. How could that happen? It's a rock. I mean, you throw a rock at someone, you can kill them. Hell, Pharoah Aknamkanon got bedridden because someone threw a rock at him. You think that woulda happened if someone threw water at him?"

"What if someone threw water at him like a trillion times?" Imph suggested, holding his hands out to his sides. "That's what we're talking about here. Over and over and over."

Mery shook his head, looking down at the sand below. "I dunno, man. I don't-I don't see it."

"This isn't me talking, Mery." Imph said. "This is just what the scholars and wisemen say. Anyway, these...whoever it is who's gonna attack us. They're not getting in the first time. Not the second time. Maybe not even the 30th time. But every time they attack, they'll kill off a few of us, drain our resources a little bit...and eventually, we'll be out of men and supplies."

"That'll take years." Rahap pointed out. "I dunno what we did, but there's no way it's worth three straight years of sending your armies to their death."

"Hey man. Whatever we did, it managed to unite every single country in the area against us. Anything's possible."

"ATTENTION!" Came a loud cry from somewhere down the line to the left of the trio. Their heads snapped to look down the line. A second later, the same "ATTENTION!" yell came from the right, as the command echoed down the line from caller to caller.

As the cries came, the men looked out into the desert. A cloud of dust that didn't belong could be seen hanging in the distance. Various sounds of marching could be detected, if only barely, through the silence of the dusk. If you looked into the distance, in that dustcloud, you could make out the outlines of men moving towards them.

"Figures." Mery muttered, glaring off into the distance. "Over three thousand of miles of border to be guarding, and they decide to kick things off by coming where I am."

"Don't be like that." Imph replied. "How many years have you been sitting on your ass at home, making money just for being in the reserves." He pointed his blade out towards the oncoming forces. "We owe them this much."

And so, Egypt VS. The Rest of Europe was on.

""""

"They've struck."

Seto strolled casually into Atemu's bedroom, arms folded over his chest. Atemu sat as his desk, right elbow resting on the surface and chin propped into is right hand, his back to the door.

"Where?" Atemu asked, not missing a beat.

"South-South-East." Seto replied. "Early size estimate is about eight hundred. We don't know where they were from."

"And it begins." Atemu turned around slowly to face Seto. "We continue as planned."

Seto nodded. "I found the girl, by the way." He pointed at the doorway that he had just entered through. "She's just outside. Um, she doesn't quite know what to do. Commoners don't see royalty under these circumstances, there's no precedence for this kind of thing."

"Well." Atemu swallowed and blinked. "She can walk into this room. Precedence indicates that to get into a room, you need to enter it, so..."

"How might she show her respect? I mean, this is your room. Where you sleep, where you read. It's different from the throne room or the main hall."

Atemu shrugged. "Whatever she feels seems right. And could you have some food brought up here?"

Seto scratched his head. "You've eaten already, and I'm sure she has as well."

Atemu gave a half-smile. "Food's a nice conversation piece. Besides, it'd be weird if I had her brought to the palace for no particular reason, don't you think?"

With that, Seto turned about to leave the room. "Enjoy." He monotoned.

A few seconds after his tall frame had exited the large living quarters, Teana slowly stepped in, peeking around the threshhold, showing clear signs of trepidation. As soon as her petite frame stepped fully into the chamber, she gave a deep curtsy in the direction of Atemu. Clearly, Seto had found her and immediately had her escorted to the palace, for she wore only a simple linen dress held up by straps, had what appeared to be a light layer of sweat and dust on her skin, and was barefoot.

"Good evening." Atemu said slowly, looking her up and down. "I hope my cousin wasn't so rude as to pull you away from anything important."

She shook her head quickly. "No...Pharoah, sir...mister-"

"Pharoah will be fine." Atemu suggested, seeing her sweat and go red, not wishing to thrust the burden of casual conversation on her yet. "It wasn't too long ago we talked like equals, you know. You didn't have a problem with it then."

"I spoke with a prince on that day, Pharoah." Teana pointed out, still standing just barely within the confines of the room. "The rules on your birthday have always been different, Pharoah."

"True." Atemu stood up slowly, extending to his full height. "True. I suppose that makes you a good citizen, following the rule to the very letter." He nodded. "So, what's on your mind?"

"What?" Teana asked, looking down at her feet, holding her hands behind her back.

"This must be a strange experience. Someone going through a strange experience must have something more interesting to say than someone having a completely ordinary one. Like me." Atemu said.

Slowly she looked up to Atemu, forced a quick smile, then brushed her hair back with her right hand. "Embarrassed. I have dresses and gowns stashed away in my closet at home for prestigous occasions where I meet with great people, and here I am wearing what amounts to a linen blanket. I have sandals at home, several pairs, good ones, and here I am feeling like a peasant. I'm not even clean. I imagine perhaps one out of every hundred thousand commoners actually gets to see a Pharoah like this, and I'm that one, and I look like I'm about to go harvest wheat." She swallowed hard. "I sort of wish Grand...Advisor...Cousin..." she gestured out towards the doorway "...him had given me a few minutes, because I'm capable of looking much better than this, and I think I should have the right to prove that during this once in a lifetime opportunity-"

"Great people?" Atemu cut her off, her words instantly dying as she snapped her head to look straight at the Pharoah. "You think I'm a great person?"

"Of course, Pharoah." Teana said quickly, going slightly red.

"That's very nice. Thank you." Atemu said, smiling and nodding as he leaned back against the desk. "Y'know, I haven't even done anything yet."

"You lead a large, populus country in a time of great strife and turmoil, even if only for a short period of time, Pharoah." She recited.

"Fair." Atemu relinquished. "Continue."

"Well. I'd like to know why I'm here. I thought to myself, perhaps I was in trouble, but it's not looking like I am right now. Perhaps there was some unresolved issue regarding our conversation at your birthday, but it doesn't seem like that either. So I'm entirely out of theories." She ended, taking a quick, deep breath as soon as the words had escaped her mouth.

At that moment, a man dressed in a linen getup common of the palace servants appeared behind Teana in the doorway. He carried a large wooden tray in his hands, which held several fruits and about two dozen bite sized hunks of pork.

"Oh, wonderful." Atemu said, motioning to Teana with his hand for her to move to the side. She did so quickly, as if Atemu held a puppeter like level of control over her. "Man, that was fast. I'm...I'm impressed. It would have taken three times as long if I was a prince." He looked over at Teana as the tray was brought over to him and set down on the desk.

"Teana, you hungry?" He pointed down at the tray. "You like these foods? You want to eat something?"

"Of course, Pharoah." Teana said, nervously shuffling her feet across the floor of the room towards Atemu.

"You already ate dinner, right?" Atemu asked, watching with a smirk as Teana fastwalked over towards him.

"Yes, Pharoah." Teana said, moving right next to him and looking down at the tray.

"Did you like it? Did it fill you up?" Atemu further interrogated, enjoying himself maybe a bit too much.

"Yes, Pharoah." Teana said, robotically picking up a stem of grapes and beginning to pick them off.

"So you're not hungry?" Atemu quizzed.

"No, Pharoah." Teana said, even as she popped a grape into her mouth.

"Meaning your just eating because I asked you to and you're terrified to turn down any request I may have?" Atemu grinned, looking up at her eating.

Teana swallowed down hard, swear appearing on her brow. She massaged her throat for a second before replying. "Yes, Pharoah." She said, clearly torn about what answer she should give.

Atemu gave a short laugh. "My, my. You are just too funny." He reached up and grabbed her right arm, which held the grape stem. "Well, if you'd rather not eat, you can stop. I hardly think it's a matter of significance."

She stood frozen to the spot, unsure of whether or not to withdraw from the contact of the Pharoah or simply stand there and let things pass as he wished.

"Teana. What would it take for you to drop your guard?" Atemu asked, releasing her arm and placing his hand back down on the desk.

"I don't understand, Pharoah." Teana said, slowly putting the grapes down on the tray.

"You're...nervous, you're stiff. I don't expect you to be able to turn it off, this is how they condition you. It just makes you a good citizen. But long-run wise, what's it gonna take?"

Going slightly red at the improper slang, she looking up towards the upper portions of the wall behind Atemu. "I...forgive me, Pharoah, but I don't know." She settled on.

Atemu spun around, moving towards his bed, just a few feet to his left. "Tonight, when you get home, start packing your things. Have your family pack their things too. Tell them that your family has been invited for an indefinite stay at the palace."

Teana swallowed very hard at this, going red as an unfortunate beggar who had fallen asleep during midday without shade. "I'm sorry, Pharoah?"

"You live in the palace long enough, you start to think you're royalty. And then, speaking with other royal members doesn't seem like a big deal at all." He shrugged. "Eventually, seeing me is gonna seem like routine. Through repetition, perhaps I can see the Teana I saw at my birthday again."

She swallowed hard again. "As you wish, Pharoah." She squeaked, terrified to show her true reaction to all this.

"We'll have chances to talk in the future, so why don't you run home?" Atemu decided, gesturing towards the doorway. "Give you time to prepare." As soon as he gave these instructions, she began backing away, as quickly as she could without giving off the impression of hurrying. "Show up as soon as you can, I'll let them know!" He called to her.

"Yes, Pharoah." Teana said hurriedly, disappearing out the doorway and then turning to hustle towards the palace exit.

""""


	7. Trump

Chapter 7: Trump

"For the sake of quick reference, I've had a simple system set up." Aknadin explained to the inner circle in front of him, standing besides a large abacus suspended on the wall within the meeting room chamber, opposite the door. "Now, without pressing for details too far, this abacus depicts how many reserve units we currently have within the country." He pointed up at the long sticks of wood supporting beads, most pushed to the right, a few on the left side, depicting some significant number. "The goal is to keep the borders fully manned at all times, immediately replacing fallen soldiers with fresh ones. As we lose units, the abacus will be updated, so we'll all be able to see at a glance where we stand and estimate how much time we have left."

"Very nice." Atemu said, looking up at the oversized instrument of counting. "So...if I'm counting beads correctly, this war started 10 days ago, and we've lost 3 units."

"Indeed." Aknadin moved away from the abacus and towards his chair near the head of the table. "Which falls in line with estimations." He sat down heavily, then looked at Atemu, deadly serious. "I hope you understand just how bad things will be if we don't clean this up before all those beads move to the left." He sat back against the wooden back of the chair. "Frankly, I don't know what we're going to do after this is over either way, because we're looking at a depleted military unless this thing wraps up in the next three months."

"These sorts of things are why you have a military." Atemu insisted. "Speaking of which, how are we doing in Israel?"

Seto grimaced. "Pharoah, these guys are untouchable. They don't leave their homes for anything. You have to understand, these are just businessmen. They're not running around in the streets, daring you to try and kill them. They're terrified."

"Honestly, you should probably be doing the same thing." Isis said, looking up at Atemu. "You know they're gonna send people. Why take any chances? Just hide up in your room."

"These are hard times." Atemu said, biting his lower lip. "During hard times, you put on a show for the people. Make them feel better. What would the commoners think if me, the Pharoah, went to go hide under his bed?" He shrugged. "Every day I live as a member of the royal family is a risk anyway."

Mundas took a deep breath. "Just stay out of the cities. Stay in the palace. Anything can happen out there. But they won't get in the palace."

"I think we're done here." Atemu said, standing up from the chair.

Buhen cleared his throat. "Actually...before we leave, Pharoah, I'd like to address a potential opportunity for us. The prince of Libya is on vacation in some islands just off the Asia coast. It'd be pretty easy for us to get him."

Atemu scratched the bridge of his nose for a second with the index finger of his right hand before speaking. "Why would we care?"

Buhen shrugged. "I...I dunno, I just thought it might be a-"

"I got nothing against Libya." Atemu said, shrugging. "Do you? Does anyone here? I mean, really? Do we have a problem with Libya?"

Those at the table looked back and forth amongst each other, awkwardly, a general unintelligible murmur from them.

"Can we please stay focused here and remember what this is all about?" Atemu said, slightly louder. "I mean, come on, how many times do I have to say it? This isn't about Libya, or Sudan, or Greece."

"Well, I understand that, but...you know, that's sort of an expression. Isn't it?" Buhen asked uneasily.

"No." Atemu said, furrowing his brow. "No, no it's not. I mean exactly what I said. This is between us and those two fatasses in Israel."

Buhen sucked in his cheeks for a split second. "Yes, Pharoah. Sorry."

"It's fine. It's...fine. Let's just stay focused. Our goal is really very simple, we don't need to try and complicate it." He spun out from in front of his chair. "We're done."

""""

Atemu walked out onto the hot sands of the grounds behind the palace, looking out on the long stretch of sand, replete with locations of shade that held various luxuries, to find Teana sitting on a cushion in the closest shaded area. Beside her was one of her friends from the city, Khuit. A few days ago she had asked if her closest friend would be allowed to partake in the palace life for periods of time when she came to visit, and Atemu naturally allowed it. She was growing more and more comfortable living in the palace, relatively speaking, and Atemu tried to grant her anything that might help speed that process.

He stepped his way across the sands toward the two girls. A rarity within Egypt, Khuit's hair was blonde, looking quite odd as a contrast to her tanned skin. Her ancestry was not from around here, her parents hailed from the western portion of Europe. Somewhere considerably less hot. Her skin was probably intended to be pale, which may have created unfortunate burning issues out in Egypt. He noticed that the tan was lighter than most, likely indicating she spent as much time as she could out of the sun. As near as he could reason, she was a good looking girl, though she was so different from the ones he knew it was difficult to tell.

"How are things?" He asked casually, walking up to them.

"Oh...um, very good, sir." Knuit replied, looking down at his ankles and running her right hand through her hair. "Very good."

"It's nice today." Atemu said. "In here, anyway. Could I borrow Teana?" He pointed down at Teana. "Just for a moment."

Teana slowly pushed herself off the cushion into a standing position and walked out from the shade toward Atemu. As she walked up to Atemu, he placed his right hand on her shoulder and led her several step away.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to join me in my room tonight." He asked. "We could eat something, and I want to show you something."

She looked down at the ground to her right, then back up to Atemu. "Oh...and what might that be?"

"Well, I have these games I've created." Atemu began to explain. "I've just sort of developed them during my free time. You usually play them on a board, there are playing pieces sometimes, simple rules...I've made them up. I've never actually played them or shown them to anyone, so...well, I just want to show them to you and see what someone else thinks of them. See which ones you like better." He shrugged. "I dunno, would that be good?"

"Oh. Sure." Teana said, nodding. "That...that sounds fantastic."

"I was hoping you'd say that-" Atemu began, but was quickly cut off as loud, quick footsteps sounded off, coming from within the palace, just inside the doorway. He flipped his head around and found one of the many palace servants running out onto the sands, stopping when Atemu turned to look at him.

"Sir!" He cried out, nervously debating how to balance respect with quickness. "There's...there's been an incident! Please, come with me!" He motioned for Atemu to follow him as he turned back around and started to run back into the Palace.

Atemu looked back at Teana quickly before bolting off after the servant, sensing something significant had happened.

""""

It had been way too easy.

Priest Marlin had just reached the bottom of the steps leading down to the city, apparently. He had only two guards with him, both flanking him, neither paying a terrible amount of attention. It was the usual security detail that he would have with him at any time.

Atemu swallowed hard. He was five steps from the bottom of the set, looking down at the fallen body of Marlin, a spear embedded into his chest, the force of which had pushed him backwards into a laying position on his back. The pulse of blood from this wound was spilling all across the steps. A massive crowd was gathered in a semi circle around him, fifteen feet back. The two guards were crouched next to Marlin, hoping vainly that life could be salvaged. A second lifeless body, blood spilling from the neck, was just a few feet away, laying on the ground face-first. The assassin, who was quickly caught and stabbed in the neck after making the kill. He wore simple peasant clothing and looked just like any other Egyptian citizen.

"How did he transport a spear through a crowded city street?" Atemu asked quickly, not taking his eyes off the scene in front of him.

"A blanket." Isis replied, standing next to him. "He carried it within a blanket."

"Are we sure there was nothing to be gained by capturing him?" He further inquired.

"Yes." Isis said. "It's not important who sent him, he could not know anything we could use."

"I'm surprised they're targeting the priests." Atemu said slowly, as the guards slowly began to pick the corpse of Marlin up.

"It's more likely to press you into surrender." Isis pointed out.

"How did they get into the city?" Atemu finally got to, turning to Isis. "We have a barricade of soldiers all around the walls, nobody could get in."

"I...don't know." Isis turned to Atemu herself. "But the truth is, we can do whatever we'd like...nothing could guarantee our safety from outsiders getting in."

"Don't be ridiculous." Atemu snorted, glancing off at Marlin being carried away before turning back to Isis. "We have thousands of men stationed at the borders, how could assassins possibly get in so long as they do their job?" He grimaced. "Somebody screwed up, I want to know who."

Isis sighed, then looked down at the ground. "Yes, Pharoah." She relented. "Does anything change now?"

Atemu ran his right hand through his hair quickly, pondering. "This was a fluke occurance. Nothing changes. We'll keep up security on the borders, normal detail on all people of importance."

Isis nodded lazily. "Very well, Pharoah."

Atemu watched Marlin be carried away by the pair of guards. "Nothing changes." He repeated.

""""

Atemu slammed the large glass, now empty except for a few suds hanging around the glass barriers, down on the table hard, then swallowed hard. "So we've got an estimated...year and a half based on how things are going right now. We've got to off two rich businessmen in Israel who know we're coming, all the while somehow assassins keep slipping through our defenses." He stood up quickly, grabbing the glass and flinging it across the room toward the wall in front of him, shattering it and sending the shards of glass in all directions. "We've been in this thing for...sixty days now, and three priests are dead!" He spun around, nearly losing his balance. "Marlin, Mundas, Jiren...I mean, what's going on? Is it too much to ask? Stand guard at the borders, don't let anybody in! It's not that hard!" He sat back down, falling back into the cushioned chair. "I dunno, what do you think?"

Teana leaned forward a few inches, then eased back to her original position. "Why are you...telling me all of this?" She asked slowly.

He gave a small shiver. "Teana...I don't know what to do. Three of my father's inner circle have been assassinated in the last 60 days, I'm in a war with every country within a thousand miles...I got thrown into this thing, took a chance, and it's not working. I'm just scared. I don't wanna talk to the priests anymore. They spit out the same answers over and over, afraid to tell me I screwed up with this whole thing."

Teana took a deep breath, rocked back and forth for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest. "In the city, a few of the boys created this...this game. It's something like your games you showed me awhile ago, just far more complicated. It's like a simulated battle. You have units, that are capable of different things, and you fight with other people who have their own units. There are...resources, gold, it's very complicated. I don't play it, but I watch. It's actually interesting."

Atemu cocked his head. "Go on."

"Well, here's one thing I've taken from what I've seen in this game. There are those who attempt to play like you play this war. They don't attack anyone, stay purely on the defense, and hope everyone else gets worn down by the end so they can strike. The players who try this always get wiped out early. Everyone else realizes they can attack that player with everything they've got without fear of retaliation, so they just gang up on him. If the opposition knows you're just going to play defense, they don't have to worry about your offense and plan accordingly." She clasped her hands around her mouth for a second, in awe herself of all she was saying to the Pharaoh. "So, I think the best defense may be a good, or at least existing, offense."

Atemu nodded. "Interesting. Unfortunately, there's no way I can afford to send out soldiers. I really need to keep everyone at home to ensure I can even protect our own borders. And it would be a futile effort, since all surrounding countries are attacking us regardless. I could send out every man in Egypt and probably wouldn't get through more than two countries."

"Yes." Teana agreed. "Which is why you need some sort of...upgrade. In the game, you can put your resources into funding scholars, who develop new technologies and...and things you can use in the battles. If you put enough time and money into this research, there's a chance you can develop an...an almighty item you can use to vastly boost the abilities of your units. So if you get this, you can take on a thousand units with a hundred. That sort of thing. So, my thinking is, you need some sort of trump card, so you can obliterate the enemy forces without needing to equal their manpower."

"And where would I get a 'trump card', as you put it?" Atemu asked.

"Your subjects." Teana replied simply. "Your cities teem with brilliant minds who imagine incredible things, and lack only the time, resources and manpower to make them. Find these people and give them what they need to make these dreams reality."

Atemu leaned back, rubbing his chin. "It'll be a shot in the dark. Finding the man with an idea feasible and powerful."

"The army that first developed the club, the sword, the spear, and the bow and arrow had the entire world in the palm of their hand for a short time. Just a short time, until everyone else got their own, but if you could hold such a large advantage for just a short time, it'd be enough. Blow through all those countries who stand opposed to you, march into Israel, and take those fat businessmen out." Teana continued to goad. "Surely it's better than sitting around and praying one of your undercover agents in Israel finds a goldfish in an ocean."

Atemu nodded slowly. "Yes. You're right." He smiled. "I can win this war with quality over quantity." He stood up. "Why don't you go off to bed now? And on your way, ask one of the guards to have Seto summoned to my room."

"Yes, Pharaoh." She said quickly, standing up and briskly walking towards the exit, trying to leave the room before anything could be done to end this positive talk on a negative note.

Atemu walked about in his room for a few minutes, working out the details in his mind on how this would work. If he hit on something significant, not only would he win this war and complete his vengeance, but would become the dominant superpower in the known world for the time being. And there was no middle ground here. Either Egypt would be left in smoking ruins, or he would become the Pharaoh of the strongest country around. For his own sanity, he couldn't consider the possibility of being destroyed.

Which left only one possibility being considered.

"Yes, Pharaoh?" Atemu spun around to find Seto standing in the doorway, having just stepped in, obviously.

"Me and Teana have just had a very fruitful brainstorm session. Seto, we have a new objective." Atemu began.

"Are you really going to take advice from a peasant girl?" Seto queried, raising an eyebrow.

"She's not a peasant girl." Atemu grunted. "Her father designed the temple."

"Fine. A spoiled girl. Either way, she might be the last person to ask advice from in this palace, all things considered." Seto insisted.

"That's quite enough." Atemu warned. "I want the brilliant minds of Egypt brought before me."

Seto pursed his lips. "That's quite easy. They all work next door, on the third floor of the Ozyman building-"

"No, no. Not our scholars. They lack what I need for this experiment." He sat back on his bed. "Out there, in the cities of Egypt, there are dozens of young, aspiring engineers with incredible ideas for great developments. Some of these developments might be able to win us this war. I need creativity, wild imagination. Going outside the box can win this war."

"Seems desparate." Seto said. "Are we really that far gone?"

"Call it whatever you will. If this works, it will be the greatest development in centuries. Egypt will tower over the rest of the world." Atemu said. "We have nothing to lose. There's no reason why we can't continue to use our agents in Israel while we prepare plan B. Seto, I don't care how you go about it, but go outside the box and bring back what you find." He kicked his legs up onto the bed, laying back on the sheets. "And remember, creative minds get noticably less creative when they believe a job in the palace is at stake. It'd be better if they didn't know such a thing was at stake."

Seto swallowed hard. "Yes Pharaoh. I'll get on that first thing tomorrow."

""""


	8. A Return To Normalcy

Chapter 8: A Return to Normalcy

"I'm really worried about this." Seto said, seated on the large chair against the back wall of the library of the palace. "I feel like he's losing control, grasping at long odds. We've been at this for a long time with no results." Seto shook his head. "I don't think he's ready."

"You won't have to worry about that for much longer, I don't think." Said Isis, seated next to him, legs folded under her, looking down at the floor.

"Well, how very optimistic." Seto remarked sarcastically.

"It's not that." Isis responded, soundly strangely out of it. "Sir Aknamkanon is to arise from his comatose state tonight. Late tonight."

Seto stared at Isis for a few beats, waiting for some verification behind her words.

"I had a vision last night. I was doing the tribute right before I went to bed, and I saw it. In the middle of the night, he'll come to." Isis finally obliged.

Immediately, Seto stood up, still looking at Isis. "Why am I just learning this now?"

"At least you've learned it. You're the only other one who knows." She looked up at him. "I haven't said anything until now."

"Why not?" Seto interrogated, balling his right hand into a fist.

"What if the vision was false?" She asked dully. "I'm well past the age that false visions are supposed to occur. I'd work everyone in the kingdom into a frenzy for nothing. Could you imagine that? Never mind the humiliation of the false vision, which might get me stripped of my position as is."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Seto insisted. "You haven't had a false vision in ten years, and no priest or priestess in training has ever had one after the age of twelve. Why the paranoia? Do you know how impressive it would be to have a vision that powerful?"

"Yes, that's exactly it." Isis shrugged. "Powerful. A little too powerful. You'll have to forgive me for being skeptical, and the risk of being wrong here is not worth the reward of being right."

"You seemed awful sure this was going to happen a second ago." Seto retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I am. But there's that chance." Isis grimaced. "I'm telling you because I trust you. Don't tell anyone about this."

Seto grunted, but grudgingly nodded. "Right. Sure."

""""

Isis shot up from her laying position like a spring, her left hand instinctively holding her blanket up to just below her neck even as her right hand grabbed the small blade on her bedside table and flung it like a dart in the direction of the doorway.

Seto had just burst through the door, his eyes widening as the blade swished through the air towards him. He ducked back out of the doorway, allowing the metal chunk to hit the door and stick there before poking his head back into the room.

"That's not very ladylike." Seto remarked, estimating that the blade would have almost certainly hit him in the face had he been slightly slower in his reaction time.

"People aren't supposed to be in my room." Isis said flatly, now using both hands to protect her modesty. Not that there was anything to see, it was as bland and generic as any other dwelling for a priest or priestess. It consisted only of a wooden table for a single person along with a similar wooden chair, a bed for a single person with wooden end tables on either side, a crate in the far corner, a single window next to the door with a black curtain currently pulled away, and assorted candles on all three tables. The air still carried a slight whiff of incense, no doubt from her nightly prayers.

"Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't seen before." Seto said dismissively. "Anyway-"

"I sleep in the nude!" Isis replied indignantly, scowling at Seto. "It is too-"

"I know." Seto cut her off. "You...I was going to tell you about that...you sleepwalk."

The scowl melted away to make room for one of abject terror as Isis's face flushed as red as the commoners who were punished by being left to bake all day in the hot egyptian sun.

"That's not important right now. It was as you said, Aknamkanon has awoken. The sparks went up from the infirmary a few minutes ago."

Isis, however, was still trying to process the revelation that, at least once at some point in the past, she had paraded herself around nude outside. And either through the repeated action of doing it to the point of it becoming a spectacle, or through her adventuring a long distance during these nighttime romps, Seto had seen her. Either scenario made her suddenly feel very ill and made everything else seem unimportant.

"Oh, get over yourself." Seto said, stepping into the room. "It's not like anyone ever touched you, we all know what the penalty for that would be." He crossed the room in three large steps and stood over Isis. "Although, I have to say, you do look spectacula-"

"Shut up!" She shrieked, whipping the pillow out from behind her with her left hand and slugging him with it. "Go away!"

"I really think you should get up and get over there." Seto said, unfazed as the pillow caused him only to sway slightly. "I'm sure they'll all want to talk with you."

"Why would they want to talk with me?" Isis asked, putting thoughts of her nude romps on the backburner for a minute.

"You did what no other priest in this kingdom could do and foresaw this event. That's pretty significant." Seto answered.

"Well, yes. But they don't know of these visions, and surely they would not believe me after the fact, so-"

"Oh, yes." Seto interrupted. "I told Atemu of it."

Isis again scowled. "You told me you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I lied." Seto replied simply, shrugging. "You'll thank me later. Now, they'll be wanting to see you." Before Isis could come up with anything further to throw at him, he backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

""""

"How long has it been?" Aknamkanon asked, still laying quite flat on his sick bed. The doctors had determined he was stable and in no need of direct medical attention, so they were standing away from the still-weak Pharaoh, in the opposite corner of the medical room, as Amaunet sat over her husband in a chair right next to the bed.

"Three months." Amaunet responded. "Crazy, isn't it?"

"Oh...god. Three months? Well, what's happened?" He asked. "Who's been serving as Pharaoh? Not-"

"Atemu has been acting Pharaoh since his party." Amaunet said quickly. "Now, he's tried very hard to handle this situation, and has been very brave in the face of all of it-"

"What has he done?" Aknamkanon interrupted, his eyes widening as he lay on his bed.

"Well...and please try to see things from his viewpoint...he called a meeting with two of the businessmen from Israel and killed both. He had assassins kill another two. And has since been trying to kill the last two." She said, trying to sound as normal as possible, as if to project this normalness onto Aknamkanon.

"Oh...oh my." He said. "That's quite something."

"You remember the businessmen...don't you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Why...why yes. I think I remember everything. My memory seems fully intact. I remember the party, the argument, the outbreak of violence-wait." He paused for a second. "If Atemu sought revenge on the Israelites, and if they are still pushing their drug venture...then the surrounding countries will-"

"Yes." Amaunet said bracingly. "All the other nearby countries have sided with the businessmen, and have been attacking Egypt like mad since this whole ugly mess began." She pursed her lips together hard. "No enemy soldier has breeched our walls yet, but...the assassins." Her head fell slightly. "Oh, why am I the one who has to tell you this? He should be the one...I mean, this was his rule...honey, four of your inner circle have been assassinated."

Aknamkanon didn't have anything to say to this. He looked up at the ceiling, a grim expression on his face.

"Don't be too mad at him." Amaunet said weakly. "The only other option was to join in on the venture, and...well, I...it's hard to bend to the will of such nasty people-"

"Could I see him?" He finally asked. "Atemu...could I see him?"

"He should be here soon. He's been sick all day, he'd be here already otherwise. I think...I think this war is getting to him." She shook her head. "Awful business. He hasn't had a second to actually enjoy being the Pharaoh." She did manage a small smile. "There is a girl though."

"There's always a girl with Atemu." Aknamkanon replied dismissively.

"No, no...this girl, the daughter of an architect. She's moved into the palace. I think Atemu really likes her. It's a shame things have to be so crazy right now. He can't even think about making a real move." She responded.

"Hm. Well, that's something." He admitted.

The door, at that moment, swung open and a pale-looking Atemu stumbled into the room.

"Oh, father!" Atemu uttered. "I knew you'd be alright!"

"I'm pretty far from alright, son." Aknamkanon replied. "How are you?"

"Much better now." Atemu said, walking up to the bed. "It's terrifying. No one holding you accountable."

Amaunet scowled at Atemu for a brief moment, but couldn't linger for any longer on the small side comment given the situation.

"So...we're at war?" Aknamkanon asked slowly.

"I'm afraid so." Atemu nodded. "I-"

"Atemu, I'm...I'm so sorry." Aknamkanon said, drawing a blank stare from Atemu.

"Father, it was my choice to-"

"So will say the scholars who keep record of our times, I'm sure." He laid back, again looking up at the ceiling. "But those who actually have a first hand experience of the events know the hand was forced, viciously. I'm proud of you, Atemu. The pride and dignity of Egypt must be fought for."

Atemu blinked twice. "So you would have done the same?"

Aknamkanon laughed. "I highly doubt it. I'm just an old man who wants peace in my kingdom."

"You don't have to be sorry, father." Atemu insisted. "You're free to take the throne from me as soon as you feel ready. Sometimes I feel lost doing all this."

"There's no magical formula to being a good leader, you know. There's no judge on the sideline grading you on your performance." Aknamkanon insisted. "And only in hindsight will you know if you made the right choice."

At that moment, the door to the room swung open slowly, and the two young priests stood there, panting slightly. Seto and Isis bowed deeply before entering, treading lightly around the newly awakened elder.

Seto opened his mouth to address Aknamkanon, but then blanched at how to lead off his statement. Was he still Pharoah? Ex-Pharoah? The Pharoah's Father? He felt a weight drop down into his stomach, not wanting to get this wrong. His mind raced between the scenarios, trying to locate the most appropriate. He thought back to the hours on hours he had spent reading about ancient traditions in the library. Technically, he would have to be considered the ex-pharoah, but would such a phrase offend him? Perhaps-

"It is wonderful to see you well, sir." Isis suddenly said, stepping forward in front of Seto, whose shoulders fell before quickly stepping up alongside her. "To what do we owe the honor of being in your presence?"

"Ah yes!" Atemu brightened up, moving towards Isis and grabbing her right arm, as if presenting her to his father. "Father, this lovely lady here foresaw your awakening!" He said, as Isis turned scarlet and looked down at the floor.

"None of the other priests did?" Aknamkanon asked, sitting up to look as Isis, who was trembling slightly under the direct gaze of Aknamkanon.

"Not a one." Atemu nodded, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "We've got a prodigy on our hands!" He sang, patting Isis on the back, who went another shade of red before discretely slipping her foot on the top of Atemu's and applying pressure.

"And what did he do?" Aknamkanon said, looking at Seto, who did his best not to similarly wither under the gaze without appearing disrespectful.

"Oh, he's just a devious little liar." Atemu said playfully as the weight returned to Seto's stomach. "Isis was too afraid to admit that she had a vision, for fear of it not being true, and Seto had to go behind her back to tell me about it, against her direct wishes." He walked over to Seto and slapped him on the back, which was nearly enough to knock him over entirely. "Isn't that right, Seto?"

Seto too went very red, his eyeballs rotating over to Atemu, trying with all his might to send a telepathic message to tell him to shut up, before realizing that he couldn't send telepathic messages and such an attempt was laughable.

"Well, we always need good liars in a functioning society." Aknamkanon said offhandedly. "Good show, you two...well done...you two-"

"Isis and Seto." Atemu said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I've been karate for three months, give me a br-"

"Comatose." Amaunet corrected. "Comatose, honey."

"Right, right." He gave his head a quick shake. "Well, I suppose we're done here. Could someone get me a...a..." Amnamkanon froze, looking down at his blanket, brow furrowed in deep thought.

"Father?" Atemu inquired.

"Uh...uh...drink. Yeah, that."

Seto and Isis threw a quick glance at each other, before collecting themselves and bowing before turning to leave the room. Atemu followed, as Amaunet stood up to get Amnamkanon a drink.

""""

"Please tell me you noticed." Seto asked, seated on a wooden stool a foot away from the edge of the large bath, a large indentation in the floor filled with sudsy water. Atemu was submerged up to his neck in this mixture, his arms up on the floor that made up the rim of the tub, laying parallel to the rim. A young girl with black long hair, perhaps sixteen years old, was in the tub next to him, holding a large sponge, scrubbing his chest down with the tool. "Our names are one thing, but-"

"Yes, I noticed." Atemu said languidly. "He's a little slow. If you were asleep for three straight months you'd probably be a little slow too."

"We're talking about the most powerful man in Egypt being a little fuzzy. You know you don't _have_ to give up the throne if-"

"What are you implying?" Atemu asked icily, turning his head to the right to glare at Seto. "He's the pharoah, alright? I was just keeping his seat warm, it was never anything but that."

"Legs." The girl said meekly. Atemu stuck his leg straight out in front of him, and she submerged the sponge under the water in the area of the leg.

"Look, I know you were a harsh critic on yourself...but, you were doing well! I'm serious, your reign was marked by a steady, fair hand, well thought out strategy, and-"

"Thank you, Seto. You need not brown nose, we're best friends, the head priest position is all but yours." Atemu interrupted. "I appreciate your concern, and I value your input. But my father has the throne, will keep the throne until the day he dies, and that is final. There is no debate here. Egypt gets it's rightful Pharoah back, and I get to enjoy life for the first time in three months."

"Other leg." The girl asked, prompting Atemu to replace his left leg with his right one in the water.

Seto gave a slow nod. "I...understand, sir. And I'm sorry. I don't mean to disrespect your father."

"Quite all right." Atemu responded. "And knock off the sir stuff, I'm a prince again."

"True enough." Seto nodded. "So...maybe things can go back to the way they were before. Right down to your charming immaturity."

"Whatever do you mean?" Atemu said, smirking all the same.

"That poor girl, having to wash you...I'll bet she's never seen something so terrifying as your body." Seto countered. "She'll have nightmares for months. Putting an innocent little girl through such a thing...how cruel."

"Well, the old me would have done much more than make her give me a bath." He glanced at the girl, who was now wringing the sponge out over the edge of the tub, into a small ground indentation that funneled water through a filter. "Isn't that right?"

"...yes, sir." She replied back, mortified of saying the wrong thing in such prestigious company.

"Alright." Atemu stood up, the water still coming up to his waist. "I'm done. Now get out of here, both of you."

""""

Sorry for the long hiatus...you know how it is.

""""


	9. His Parting Gift

Chapter 9: His Parting Gift

"They said that it couldn't be done. Not in this day and age. I like to think that it is a great achievement that we can be gathered here today. In this time of war, in a time of great bloodshed and hatred, the most powerful men in the world have gathered in the same room to have a peaceful talk. Truly, an amazing occurence."

"Especially with your son running amok." Basem, the king of Algeria, said. "A pharoah stabbing negotiating businessmen...ridiculous."

"This entire business could be classified as ridiculous, Basem." Amnamkanon said easily. "The actions of my son as Pharoah will be debated by historians until the gods decide human beings are no longer fit to roam the earth. And no one is more unhappy than me that Atemu had to get blood on his hands."

"Blood on his hands?" Abbas, lord of Iran, spat. "Nothing of the negotiators who provided the blood? I'm ever so sorry your son stained his lovely hands!"

"Abbas, if your goal is to attempt to make feel sympathy for the dearly departed Israelis, consider that they attempted to kill me-"

"Not by their own hands!" Abbas insisted. "Barbaric...barbaric."

"Well, gentlemen." Aknamkanon continued. He looked around the room at the men of great stature. On top of himself, Basem and Abbas, Bello of Libya, Habid of Saudi Arabia, and Zaid of Iraq were present. "It's taken a full month to arrange this meeting. But it was important to me that we could all meet, face to face. I find it unfortunate that the Israelis could not be convinced to come."

"I don't blame them." Bello grumbled.

"...yes. In any case, I truly do hate this. I hate everything about it. I'm sure nobody here likes this whole foolish war. And I want to end it. This six month war, I don't want to see it get to a seventh. I've seen only three months of it, which is three months too many."

"Then you know what needs to happen, Pharoah." Zaid stated. "Now, Aknamkanon, you know I respect you. I wouldn't be here at this meeting if I didn't. And I was saddened when I heard of the Israelis plot. But I must first consider my own kingdom, and the profit that the narcotic business offers is through the roof."

"Of course. I was made more than aware of the potential gold in this venture. It's nothing that I didn't know when the offer was first made to me. I don't think the downside is being seen here. My concern is that of my people. What effects will narcotics have on their every day lives? How will it change the structure of my kingdom? That sort of thing." Aknamkanon nodded. "However, I've re-evaluated. Clearly, the worst thing I can do for my kingdom right now is to continue to go against this deal. And so, if that is what it takes, then I'm willing."

"I am relieved to hear this." Habid stated. "I knew you were a reasonable man, Aknamkanon." He turned to glance around at the rest of the table. "Now, we have all sustained devastating losses over the last half year. But I think you will all agree that Egypt has been hit the hardest."

"All of our armies have been decimated over the last six months." Aknamkanon continued for Habid. "I do not intend to look for sympathy at this table. However, there are some final points I wish to discuss. Before this ugly business, I had six fine priests within my inner circle. Priests who I would trust with my life. Now, five of them are dead. Only Aknadin stands. This saddens me deeply. One reason I come before you today, is I do not wish Aknadin to suffer the same fate."

"Naturally. We dare not so much as touch an Egyptian during a time of peace." Bello said. "Aknadin will be perfectly safe after the peace to be brokered today."

"Yes, I would hope so. Now...there's the business of my son." Aknamkanon held his hand out toward the table. "I don't want to hear another negative word about Atemu. He is still my son, my heir, my flesh and blood. Whatever you may think of him, I don't want to hear it." He cleared his throat. "I know the people at this table don't like or respect the young prince. I know you are disgusted by his actions, and even though the perceived slight was against the Israelis, you view it as a matter of principle that Atemu be punished. Now, I will not attempt to debate this point either way with any of you. But I demand that, whatever ill will you feel towards Atemu, you swallow it. He is the heir of my kingdom. And any attempt on him will certainly provoke another fierce war. I believe everyone in this room to be a respectable, reasonable person. Killing Atemu does not right the perceived wrong that he committed. No more than killing all of you would bring back my trusted priests."

"I will never like your son." Zaid began. "But you have my word I will consider him as off-limits to attacks as I consider you."

The rest of the table gave general nods of agreement and murmurs indicated similar stances.

"Good. I myself swear it will not be me who breaks this peace. However, if Prince Atemu were to die before me. If I were to be alive for his funeral. If I had to look upon his dead body, and see the lifelessness of it while my own body still contains life. Then there are a handful of people I would blame. Most of whom are in this room. Today, I have chosen to forgive. We have all chosen to forgive. But, if it is I who has to bury my son...that, I will not forgive."

""""

Atemu stood at the threshold of the doorway, looking in at the activity. It felt so much better now, to have the war off his mind entirely. Throughout his short reign, every waking moment featured thoughts of the war, regardless of what he was doing. Now, he could actually enjoy the small things, like this.

Teana and Khuit were laying face down on a pair of long cushioned tables, with a indentation for their heads. Each had a large, tanned muscular man, kneading various parts of their bodies with strong supple fingers. Both girls could be heard faintly moaning.

"I don't know how I ever got by without massages." Khuit said into the cushion.

"I get them every day now. Apparently I have a lot of 'knots' in my back." Teana replied, as the man squeezed her thighs.

"Knots in your back? What does that mean?" Khuit asked, her masseuse kheading her shoulders.

"No idea. But I feel so much more relaxed lately. It's great." Teana replied.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Atemu asked, strolling into the room casually. As if a bolt of lightning had cracked down, the two heads shot up to look at the prince, and both girls immediate put their hands up near the cushion on either side of their chest and attempted to frantically push themselves up. Both of the men, however, were pushing down on the shoulders of the girls, which was more than enough to keep them rooted to the spot.

"Uh-uh-greetings, Pharoah, if I could just-" Teana began to sputter, attempting to slide off the table but finding it impossible to get out from under the strong hands. Khuit was still too shy to speak, now gripping the edge of the table and attempting to pull herself out from under the masseuse.

"Girls, girls, please. Don't stop on my account. I am just a prince now." He said slowly, sauntering up to the two tables. "There's no shame in getting a massage."

Teana ceased her attempts to escape, but kept her head up at Atemu. Khuit, however, was still frantically attempting to get away, eyeing the prince nervously.

"How are you today?" Atemu asked Teana.

"Oh, very very good. The remarkable turn of events that saw me being allowed to reside in the palace must have been the will of the gods, and I only wonder what great and magnificent deed I performed to make them see me as fit to bestow such a reward on." Teana said quickly, as if rehearsed.

"I'm happy you like it so much." Atemu smiled. "Are you free tonight?"

"If you wish me to be." She replied sheepishly.

"Good. Come down to the main dinner hall tonight, I want you to meet my father." Atemu said casually.

Teana, however, blanched, her lips pressing against each other and thinning. "Uh-well, geez, I mean...y'know, actually, I kinda have...a thing, with a stuff, and-"

"Teana, please. He's not going to hurt you. He's just the Pharoah. You talked to me without a problem when I was the Pharoah, it's really not different. Just be cool and I'm sure he'll like you." Atemu comforted. "Actually, it occured to me that I haven't met your parents yet, how about them?"

"Well...actually they haven't left our chamber yet since arriving here." Teana said, settling back down on the table. "I think they're really scared of meeting someone of the royal family. I haven't the heart to force them."

"Right. Well, I think it's time I met them. Tell them if they don't join the royal family at dinner tonight, I'll have their daughter beheaded." Atemu instructed, causing Teana to again blanch.

"I'm...terribly sorry, what?" She said.

"Tell them if they don't join us at the royal dinner tonight, I'll have their daughter beheaded." Atemu repeated.

"Really?" Teana let slip out before she could run her desired words through a filter that was fit to be said around royalty.

"Well...no, but...tell them that." Atemu shrugged. "I want to meet your parents, and you really ought to meet my father."

"As you wish." Teana said, smiling ever so slightly. "They'll be there."

A coughing sound came from the doorway. Atemu swung around, to find Seto standing there, hands clasped behind his back, staring at the prince.

As Atemu left the room, responding to the silent call of Seto, Khuit finally stopped fidgeting, settling back down on the table as Atemu's frame disappeared along with Seto's. She took a deep steadying breath of relief.

"What's the deal?" Teana asked her. "You've been avoiding him like the plague for the last month."

"Oh...oh it's...nothing." She said quietly. "Just...just star struck, I don't want to talk about it."

""""

"I know the war is over, but...I thought you might want to see this. Either way, it could be worth following up on." Seto said as the pair quickly swept down the halls.

"Of course. You never know." Atemu said aimlessly. He so wished to sweep all the events since his birthday under the rug, he felt so much more happy with everything back to a relative normal. However, if a significant technological development could be had in such a simple way, if nothing else Atemu could surprise father with it.

"I had a look at all the canidates that could be found, and I believe this one best combines feasibility and usefulness. Plus the man seems intelligent enough." Seto explained. "He's waiting in the library."

"Very good." Atemu said half-heartedly. "Yes, I'm...I'm sure he'll be fine."

They turned into the large chamber that held shelves lined with books for rows upon rows, coming to face a man unfamiliar to the prince, right by a long countertop that went along the right wall. Immediately, the man dropped to his knees as Atemu came into his line of sight.

"Welcome." Atemu began. "Seto says you have something for me?"

"Yes, sir." He began, standing back up. "I'd like to thank you for this opportunity, sir. It means so much to me."

"Yes yes. What is it?" Atemu mumbled, looking over at a stack of parchment on the countertop right next to the man. "Wait, who are you?"

"Phoenix." The man replied simply. "Phoenix. Now..." he cleared his throat, "my design, is...certainly something that is a lot of trial and error away, it will obviously be some time before I can perfect it, but it's a small enough contraption that it's not...completely out of the realm of possibility, and I'm certain can be done."

"What do you call it?" Atemu asked, propping his right arm up on the countertop.

The man grabbed the stack of papers and held them close to his chest for a moment. "I...well, I suppose that...now that you-"

"Okay okay, nevermind." Atemu interrupted. "What does it do?"

"Ah, well, basically, it enhances the function of the bow and arrow." He summarized. "The bow and arrow is a very specialized weapon. You need extensive training to wield it properly, and only the best can truly use it particularly well. The combination of strength and precision required for an accurate shot over a great distance is something only a select few can manage. You also have the consideration of speed, the length of time it takes to fire an arrow, get a new one, and load it. It's an inherent flaw that prevents full utilization of the weapon."

"I see." Atemu nodded. "Go on, Phoenix."

"So...here." He put a sheef of the paper down on the countertop and pointed to it. "I've made an attachment for a bow. See?" Atemu looked down at the crude drawing. He recognized what appeared to be a bow, laying horizonal opposed to the usual vertical orientation. A rod appeared to be attached to the midsection of the bow, on both the string and the bow. "The attachment pulls the string back automatically, and an arrow rests in a groove along the rod. The wielder can activate the device by...perhaps pressing a button or pulling a trigger, I'm not quite sure yet. It launches the arrow out of the rod, and then a mechanism immediately pulls it back ready for another fire."

"Interesting." Atemu pointed at the drawing. "Is there any reason why the middle portion of the rod is so fat?"

"Well, one of my thoughts was that a sort of...rotating drum would be attached to the bottom, and every time you fired, the drum would rotate, automatically loading a new arrow into the bow. So you could simply fire, and the string would automatically be pulled back _and_ a new arrow could be placed in the firing position." Phoenix said, clearly getting more and more excited. "Now, I can't guarantee what happens in the testing room, but if the reloading process is fast enough...well, I'm sure you can see the possibilities of a single man being able to send off multiple arrows per second."

Atemu nodded. "It's good. It's very good."

"Anyone can use it given a short time of practice to familiarize oneself with the range and such. I'm confident that-"

"Well, Phoenix, I'm sold." Atemu said. "Seto, I'd like to see some prototypes of this weapon. See to it that Phoenix gets everything he needs." With that, Atemu grabbed Seto's right shoulder in his left hand and put his face up close to his right ear. "Keep this one close to the vest. It'd make a nice surprise present for father."

"I'm sure he'll love it." Seto responded. "I'll keep this one quiet."

""""

"I'm not going to lie, and I don't think it's shameful. Deep down, all Pharaohs hope that their sons marry daughters of other royal figures. Or daughters of insanely wealthy men. Why Atemu, imagine if you had married Saaha?" Aknamkanon glanced over at Atemu.

"Which one was that, father?" Atemu asked through gritted teeth, poking at a baked potato with the bare bone from an already-digested chicken.

"Bello's daughter. Could you imagine if the mighty empires of Egypt and Libya were combined through marriage? The entire known world would be conquered in a matter of years!" Aknamkanon animated, pointing up at the ceiling.

"She's fat." Atemu said dismissively. "Like a cow."

"Yes, yes. It's just disappointing that Teana doesn't bring immense power or wealth to the table." Aknamkanon looked over at Teana, seated two chairs to his left, who wilted under his gaze. "Oh well. At least she has large, developed tracts of land."

Atemu casually picked up his golden goblet and splashed the contents onto Aknamkanon's face. The purple tinted wine dripped down onto his lap, as the Pharaoh refocused his gaze just a few degrees down towards his son.

"Oops." Atemu deadpanned.

"Right." Aknamkanon grabbed his napkin without dropping his gaze, then wiped his face off. "Don't worry Teana. I'm not serious. We have quite enough money, and sometimes I wonder if Egypt is already too big a kingdom to rule over."

Teana flashed a small smile at the Pharoah. "Thank you." She said meekly, grabbing her own goblet and taking a draw from it.

"Lovely daughter." Aknamkanon said, looking further down the table at a balding middle aged man just a further seat down. "You must be very proud, uh..."

"Aapep." The man said quietly, looking down at his plate. "Aapep."

"Right. And, uh..."

"Nephthys, sir!" Came the woman seated to the left of him, waving up the table. "Yes, we're both very proud of her." She announced.

"You seem like a wonderful lady, and Atemu is lucky to have you." Aknamkanon continued. "And I only hope that you two can develop your relationship in a time of continued peace."

"Oh, I'm sure." Atemu responded. "Why would anyone want to attack us?"

"Stranger things have certainly happened." The Pharoah countered. "Might I ask you, my son, to join me in the garden for desert privately later?"

"Of course."

""""

The father-son pairing sat on chairs just on the outskirts of the large garden, ornate with flowers kept in constant bloom by the painstaking care of the groundskeeper, eternally beautiful.

"I wish I had been conscious over the past months. It would have made me so proud to see how you handled things." Aknamkanon said, holding a small bowl of pudding in honey syrup.

"Not as much as I wish you had been conscious. It would have prevented me from handling things so poorly." Atemu insisted, his own bowl already set, empty, on a concrete trim around the dirt portions of the garden.

"Atemu, it's very important that you understand you did the right thing." Aknamkanon said sternly. "More important than you realize."

"I wouldn't worry about that. You have a peaceful reign of at least two decades ahead of you yet, father." Atemu replied, turning around to look at the yellow flowers immediately at his back.

"It's not that simple." Aknamkanon said, looking down at the ground in front of him. "My son, tomorrow morning, you'll be coronated Pharoah again."

Atemu turned back to face his father. "What are you talking about? You're far too young to retire, and furthermore-"

"You don't understand. Son, please listen." He took a deep breath. "I don't expect to survive the night."

Atemu glared at his father with wide eyes. "But-"

"Let me explain!" Aknamkanon exclaimed. "Your uncle roused me from my coma using medicine, the doctors forced me awake. It was not natural, and the procedure put my life at risk. Privately, the doctors had come to believe the swelling in my brain would prevent me from ever awaking naturally. But your uncle decided that this was the only way the kingdom could be saved. I survived the process, but my condition remains. The pain is constant, and great. I do all I can to mask this in public, and doctors keep me medicated in private." He put his right hand up to his head, rubbing it. "Your uncle demanded I be forced awake, so that I might end the war, as I hold respect among the other royal families you do not."

"But-"

"Listen, son. I doubt I have much longer, and I suspect surrounding kingdoms will, in their lack of respect for you, ignore promises made to me and begin the attack yet again. Your Uncle's gambit has bought us only time. Perhaps a few weeks of peace, maybe a month. But it has worked for that. By the morning, I will either be dead or unfit to serve as Pharaoh, turning the responsibility over to you yet again. You must be wary, I suspect the surrounding countries will renew their attacks with great vigor when I'm gone."

"What if-"

"No! There's no other way." Aknamkanon insisted. "I'm done. Nothing can save me now. I'll either die or relapse into another coma that I won't wake from. Please understand, son. Use those few weeks of time well. Go after the Israelis with everything you have. If you have a trump card waiting in the wings, use it."

Atemu swallowed hard. "...well. Actually, I do have-"

"I don't need to hear about it." The Pharaoh interrupted. "I said it would not be me breaking the peace, and I meant it. If Egypt can be saved, then you'll be the one to safe it over these next few months."

Finally, Aknamkanon ceased to talk, and slowly turned his head to look at the garden to his right.

"...are you alright now?" Atemu finally asked, awkwardly.

Aknamkanon shrugged. "Pain. Comes and goes, but it'll all be over soon."

Atemu looked down at the ground. "Father, I'm-"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Aknamkanon said, turning back toward his son. "This is all part of being a Pharaoh. Trust me. Political attacks happen in this line of work. Maybe I could have lived to...seventy or seventy five as an engineer or laborer. But, should I die tomorrow at forty two, I will have lived a thousand times more than that engineer or laborer did."

"It didn't have to happen." Atemu said slowly. "You could have lived as a Pharaoh for a hundred years. This was avoidable."

"For forty two years, from the moment I was born, I've been waited on hand-and-foot by a thousand servants, eaten the finest foods, seen the finest sights, and lived in the best luxury the world has to offer. Virtually everyone else in the world would trade with me." The Pharoah said, standing up. "You know what every Pharaoh really dreams of, Atemu?"

Atemu shook his head.

"They dream of handing the kingdom to their heir in a time of peace and prosperity. My father wanted it for me. And his father before him wanted it for my father. I really wanted it for you, as much as they did. No wars, no conflict, healthy economy...we dream of making the reign of our sons the easiest reign in the history of all Pharaohs. That's all I regret, son. I have to hand the reign to you in a time of turmoil and war. I wanted you to sit around all day doing whatever you want, never worrying about anything. That's all I regret."

"I understand." Atemu finally said, looking up. He then rose up and embraced his father in a hug. "Egypt will not fall. If I am truly descendent from the gods, then there's no way I would allow it to happen."

"I have to go to my room." His father said slowly, leaving the embrace. "Grieve later if you must. Your entire life will be defined by history based on the next few months."

""""

"Prince Atemu, sir, please, I always forget, how does this piece move-" Teana began as soon as the large door to Atemu's bedroom creeked open. As she had been asked, she and Khuit had gone up to Atemu's bedroom to get one of his table games ready. She was seated on one side of the small stone table, holding up a stone figurine.

"Not right now." Atemu said quickly, sweeping into the room. Teana silenced herself immediately.

"Khuit, I have something I'd like to talk to Teana about privately." Atemu said, sitting down on his bed. Khuit immediately took the hint, and wordlessly sprinted out of the room.

"Yes, Prince Atemu?" Teana asked, boldly sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Something big's happening tonight. History-alteringly big." Atemu began. "All things considered, I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this, but...well, it feels right. Look...well, I'm going to be Pharaoh again tomorrow morning. And it's going to be hell after that, for quite some time."

Teana stared blankly. "I...I don't understand."

"My father will be dead by tomorrow morning. Medicine most unnatural revived him in the first place, he's always in pain...it's for the better. His temporary revive has bought us some time, but not much. Over the next few weeks, things are going to be crazy. Everyone's going to drop the peace agreement with him gone, so we'll have to take advantage of the time he's bought us."

He suddenly stood up and went to the desk right by his bed, picking a piece of paper from the stack on the table and grabbing the reed pen right next to it. "I have some ideas...we'll keep Aknamkanon's death inside the palace for as long as possible." He began writing on a slip of paper quickly. "I'll begin sped up production of a new invention recently brought to me, make thousands of them as fast as possible...it just might work."

"I...I'm not sure what to say." Teana finally came out with, slowly. "Good...luck?"

Atemu quickly filled out a 2nd piece of paper. "It's...it's not that, I just wanted to let you know what you're into, if it's too much for you...well...anyway, nothing's guaranteed. We're gonna have to catch a few breaks...the priests need to pull something big out, the prototypes need to function, so I'm not promising success." He turned around, leaning against the backrest of his chair, looking at Teana. "I get it now, Teana. Good men, they need good women behind them." He got up and moved towards her. "You can't just wander through life from woman to woman without losing something. These next few weeks...either Egypt comes out of this burned to the ground or the dominant superpower in the world."

"I still don't understan-"

"Look, I know it's crazy...if you don't want to be a part of this I get it, but I don't want to go into this alone." He sat down next to her again. "It's because of your advice we have a chance in any of this, there's not another woman in this nation who would have said what you said. I want you by my side as I try to save this kingdom. If the worst happens, I want to know how it felt before the kingdom falls. If the best, I'd like to share it."

He stood up. Then went down on one knee in front of Teana. "So, what I mean to say is...would you marry me?"

Teana looked dumbstruck, staring down at the prince of Egypt, quite sure he was seconds away from laughing, dismissing the whole thing, and sending her to her room.

"You don't have to decide right now, I understand if you'd rather...evacuate your whole family after what I've just told you or what not, but you don't have to tell me right away. I just wanna put it out there." He grabbed Teana's hands and guided her into a standing position. "You should probably go to your room, maybe sleep on it." He guided her towards the door. "I don't want you to say something and regret it later."

"Yes...yes, sleeping on it." Teana replied slowly, looking around after being guided outside the bedroom door. "That seems like a...a good idea." She nodded.

"Yes." Atemu glanced to his right down the hall, where a lightly armored guard stood next to a table with a vase on it. "Ahem." He said, motioning towards him.

Quickly, the soldier stepped forward towards the pair. Atemu stepped back in, grabbed the two slips of paper, and folded them.

He presented both to the guard. "This one goes to Aknadin. The other goes to Seto." He instructed. "As quickly as you can, I don't care what the two are in the middle of, this is a top priority."

"Yes sir." The guard replied, taking the two slips, bowing deeply, and turning to run off.

"Good night." Atemu said to Teana, closing the door as he disappeared back into his room.

"Yes...yes, good night." Teana said, fighting off the urge to skip down the hallways toward her room.

""""


	10. Family Business

Chapter 10: Family Business

"Anything you need, it's yours." Atemu said, leaning back on one of the chairs in his bedroom, in the corner opposite his bed. "If you need a billion debens of gold, I can get it. Ten thousand gorgeous virgins? It's yours. The entire kingdom is yours to milk, but I absolutely need this to work."

"Yes, thank you, Pharaoh Atemu." Seto said, nodding. "But it has to be said that these devices are very precise and delicate things, no layman can construct one."

"If the prototype works, then there's no excuse. I'll get every single man, woman and child in this city to participate if I need to, just say the word."

"I'm sure the results will be satisfactory." Seto assured the new Pharaoh. "And I have seen the prototype...it functions, quite well."

"Good." Atemu nodded, looking off to his left. "Your father is keeping everything inside the palace. Only a select few know about...well." He trailed off.

"Are you alright?" Seto asked, as Atemu stood up.

"It's...easier now." He responded, looking down at the floor. "He got to say goodbye, got to go out on his terms...at least somewhat. I'm not waiting for him now. At least now I know it's me, and only me."

"Would it be alright if...I was to attend the funeral later today?" Seto dared to ask.

Atemu shrugged. "Me, my mother, your father, two guards at the door, five doctors to come in and handle the mummification process afterwards. Pretty small group." He nodded. "Don't tell anyone else though. You're the high priest's son, it makes sense. The others, well, I'd rather not crowd it any more than that."

"Understood." Seto said shortly.

""""

"Under normal circumstances, I do not know if he would have wanted it this way." Aknadin spoke to the tiny grouping of people around the body of Aknamkanon, fallen Pharaoh, on a stone table on the dais in the small room. "His father's funeral was a week long ceremony that was attended by millions of people. I like to think it's fitting."

Atemu, Amaunet, and Seto were standing to the left, behind, and right of the stone table respectively, Aknadin in front of it.

"His death will be kept secret for weeks, the general public will think he's walled himself up in his room until we can no longer withhold it. All in the service of this nation. Even in death, he gave up honor for the benefit of this country, so that we might find a way to survive. As I said, it's fitting a Pharaoh such as him. The glory of a true Pharaoh's funeral will never be known to him, he's given it up for the sake of all of us." Aknadin continued to monologue. "Let us hope that this sacrifice not be in vain."

Suddenly, a sharp knock came at the door opposite the small grouping. The two guards stationed on either side jumped, glanced at the door, then back to the Pharaoh for instructions.

"No one knows we're here." Aknadin said suddenly. "I made sure of it, there's no reason for anyone to come down here, someone must've-"

Atemu pointed at the door. "Open it." He commanded. The guard to the right of the door complied immediately.

The door opened outward, clearing the way for Isis to step in, eyes glaring hard at the scene before her.

"Priest Isis?" Atemu blurted out. "What're-"

Quite suddenly, she reached for the belt of the guard to her left, pulled the short short from the sheath, and before anyone could react, swung it across her body into the neck of the guard to her right.

There was no time for any sort of reaction. The guard fell, his head partially severed from his body and blood pouring from the wound. His hands had reached up to grab at the new incision, now futilely gripping at his head trying to put it back where it belonged.

Isis dropped the sword, still glaring hard at the four people in front of her, the loud clang of the blade bringing their attentions back to her.

After a split second, the remaining guard reached out to grab Isis, who slid to her right and looked at the guard disdainfully. The soldier caught himself, his hand frozen out, reaching for her, and he desparately looked at the four figures of power by the stone table.

"Isis. Explain." Atemu said suddenly.

She nodded grimly. "I apologize for my intrusion and beg the forgiveness of you, Pharaoh Atemu, for disturbing this procession, and I did only what I felt I must." She stepped forward, away from the pool of blood that was just inches away from her brown slippers. "This guard was here to assassinate you. I saw it, in a vision. I'm sure of it."

Everyone just stared at one another for a few seconds. Aknadin broke the silence. "We could have used him alive in that case." He said hoarsely.

"I apologize, I simply feared anything less than an immediate kill would jeopardize the Pharaoh." Isis responded. "I wouldn't kill a soldier of Egypt without a very good reason. I hope you know that."

Atemu nodded forcefully. "Yes." He looked over at Aknadin. "I think we're done here." He pointed at the remaining guard and snapped his fingers. "Have this matter investigated, let no one know the particulars." He pointed at the bleeding corpse. The guard bowed quickly and ran off as fast as he could, eager to escape the room. He looked over at Aknadin. "Uncle, let the doctors have him." His mother fell under his gaze next. "We're not safe right now, find a secure chamber and have it locked down for at least a few hours." He began walking towards the door. "Isis, Seto, my room."

""""

"I don't believe it." Seto said, seated on a chair next to Atemu's bed, looking at Atemu sitting up on the foot of it. "They'd actually attack you while they thought your father was still alive? With an assassin? It's...it's-"

"They wouldn't." Atemu said through gritted teeth. "It makes no sense, my father submitted to their demands. They'd only attack me if they knew he was already dead."

"How?" Seto exclaimed. "There are less than twenty people in the whole world who know he's dead, all of whom are completely trusted! Even if there was a mole, how could an assassination attempt being coordinated so quickly? It's-"

"Pharaoh Atemu." Isis interjected suddenly, sitting cross-legged on a chair of her own, opposite Seto with respect to Atemu. "I know what you're thinking. I'm not upset in the slightest I wasn't invited to your father's funeral, and completely respect and understand your decisions. Now please, don't feel as if you need to exclude me from this conversation out of some un-needed feeling of shame."

Atemu blinked twice. "Yes. Right, I'm glad you understand." He shook his head a few times. "And...thank you." He said, looking into her eyes. "You saved my life. And proven to possess immense power as a priestess and incredible initiative, you'll make a grand member of my inner circle."

"I live to serve." Isis responded.

Atemu looked back at the ground in front of him. "So they know. We have to assume they're assembling their armies to launch attacks again as we speak."

"Hold and defend again?" Seto asked. "How much longer can we last?"

"We have a traitor in our midst, I'm sure we'll all be assassinated long before our armies deplete." Atemu replied grimly. He then took a deep, calming breath. "I wasn't counting on this."

"What do we do now?" Isis asked, putting her feet back on the floor.

Atemu stood up. "Seto, no matter how outlandish or stupid sounding, I want you to demand to be provided with anything you think you could possibly need. That's an order. Preparing that is your priority. I want it kept secret as possible, but if you need more men, bring them in."

Seto stood up, bowed deeply, and left the room. Isis looked after him, then back to the Pharaoh.

"Need to know, Isis." Atemu said quickly, cutting her off even as she opened her mouth. "I want to know everything about my almost-assassin, and I need someone who already knows about it to handle it. If you learn anything, I want to hear about it, understood?"

She stood up, bowed deeply as well, and turned to leave.

""""

"So...if you somehow can create enough of your mysterious prototype to beat back the invaders." Teana recapped as she and Atemu walked through the garden in the palace backyard. "If you can somehow kill the remaining Israeli businessmen who caused this whole thing. And if you can somehow find and plug the leak inside the palace. Your reign as Pharaoh might just last longer than a month. That's what I'm hearing."

"I'm just trying to be up front with you. You deserve to know everything before making your decision." Atemu said, looking distantly ahead of him. "There isn't a single person in the palace who wouldn't chew me out for telling you all this. Most of them would heavily suspect you're the insider."

"Really?" Teana asked, her smile fading.

"Well, you're one of a very small group of people who knew my father died last night." Atemu shrugged. "I haven't told them that I told you, by the way. And I'd highly recommend you don't tell anyone about it either. But really, when you think about it, it's pretty open and shut. Only the most trusted people in the palace know about it, I decide to tell you, the Israelis find out...it's almost too easy."

Teana froze midstep, trying to smile weakly, looking over at Atemu slowly. "You...don't-"

"Obviously not." Atemu deadpanned. "If my uncle heard so much as a rumor that I told you about my dad, he'd send you down to the dungeons for sure. Have you ever heard about about the execution process we reserve specifically for those who betray the Pharaoh?"

Teana shook her head slowly.

"It'd be best if you kept it that way." Atemu nodded. "Now, maybe I'm just a young, stupid Pharaoh taken in by your looks and charm. Maybe I don't think your actions in the last several months are incompatible with someone who's spying on me for the benefit of murderous businessmen. Or maybe I don't believe that those Israelis could bribe you with something worth more than a life in the palace. So no, I don't think you're the insider. I'm saying this because you need to be careful, like I said, if my Uncle heard about this he'd kill you out of principle and I wouldn't be able to stop him."

She nodded. "I'll be careful." She said softly.

"It's a longshot. And anything less than perfection won't cut it. If we don't find a way to mass produce the mystery prototype." He stopped, sitting down on one of the benches in the garden along the pathway. "Those armies are going to run us into the dirt eventually." He looked down at the ground. "If we don't nail those last two Israelis...then the monetary motivation for everyone will be great enough for them to continue attacking us for years to come. Plus their deep pockets make the fight that much more difficult. And if we can't figure this leak out, people will be looking over their shoulders and whispering for years, can't rule a kingdom when nobody trusts anyone else. It's all or nothing."

Teana sat down next to him. "I can see that."

"But, if everything works out-and I feel like I'm due some good luck-Egypt would be the most powerful and feared nation in the world. You'd be the most powerful woman in the world as my Queen." He leaned in slightly closer towards her. "You only get one chance like this in your life."

"Are you trying to sell me a house, or trying to propose to me?" Teana asked coyly.

"I know all of this must seem horrible to you right now. So here's my promise to you. I promise that, if you marry me, in less than one month, the great nation of Egypt will be at peace. There will be no more attacks, no more dirty politics, no more fear. We'll be free for the next fifty years to do whatever we want, together. I promise that, if you were to be my wife, you'd never have to fear for your, my, or our children's lives through war or covert assassination." Atemu said.

Teana bit her bottom lip. "I thought about it a lot last night and today. I've seen all of these sides, Pharaoh. But I don't think I ever seriously considered turning it down."

"Is that a yes?" Atemu asked, eyes widening.

"Yes. I'd be happy to be your bride." She leaned in and kissed him. Atemu returned the kiss.

After some seconds, they pulled apart. "One month. It'll be the grandest wedding in the history of weddings!"

""""

"Oh come on." Isis said under her breath to Seto, seated next to her. He gave her a sideways glance.

"What're you talking about?" Seto whispered back, eyes back to the center of the circle of young priests.

"You've been icy ever since I saved the Pharaoh's life." She smirked. "I can tell. You're jealous. Now when are you gonna get over it?"

Seto snorted. "How about you kiss my-"

"Hey!" Aknadin called from the middle of the circle. "Quiet over there!"

They glanced at each other for a few more seconds. Seto finally thought Aknadin's attentions were elsewhere and leaned slightly closer to Isis. "Let's not forget who he trusted the secret of his mystery prototype to. Even you don't know what it is, do you?"

"Yeah, good for you. See? I'm not envious, I have nothing but good things to say about your accomplishment. You, on the other hand-"

"Your little vision is nothing for anyone to be jealous of, nothing more than a lucky break that could have happened to anyone." Seto said through gritted teeth, his eyes still on Aknadin at the center of the circle.

"See? This is what I'm talking about. The green monster of-"

"Please!" Aknadin shouted towards the pair again. "Need I remind you how much this great nation needs our services right now? We must all work, wade through the false and trivial visions of the future, at all hours of the day if we are to find something of value!"

"Of course, my apologies, Grand Priest!" Isis said back.

"Thank you." He said. "Egypt doesn't stand a chance without our help! We've got mere days before the attacks start again! Let's try and focus, please."

Suddenly, a series of loud gongs sounded off, ringing through the air. A total of six before the abrasive sounds ceased, a hum lingering a moment before passing.

"My apologies, but I have to be going now." Seto said, standing up from his sitting position on the ground.

Isis stood up as well. "Me too, I have business to take care of."

"Yes, of course. Good luck." Aknadin said dismissively, waving them away.

""""

Outside of the group meditation room, Isis and Seto stared at each other for a second before smiling simultaneously.

"You're real funny." Seto said, as the pair began strolling down the halls of the temple.

"Thank you." Isis responded.

"Okay, maybe I am sort of wondering when I'm gonna get my breakthrough." Seto admitted. "There's a lot of pressure on me, and I can't help but think to myself that this would be a great time to see something."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll happen soon." Isis replied. "Speaking which, how's it going on your end?"

"Well...do you know what the prototype is?" Seto asked.

"Haven't heard a thing." Isis responded.

"Then it's going quite well. We've got thousands working in the palace basements, and calling in more all the time. So clearly we still have top notch security around here." Seto noted.

"That's not really what I meant, Seto."

"Oh, they're magnificent." Seto exclaimed. "You'll see. The only problem is...they're so precise. The slightest imperfection makes them useless. But we need so many, it's...well it's frustrating. But I think we'll get it. Somehow. You?"

"Ptah's the name of the almost assassin." Isis said. "He had a wife. She wasn't there when we raided her house. We found half a million debens in a sack buried under the carpet in the living room that isn't accounted for. We're looking everywhere, but something tells me she doesn't know anything."

"The Pharaoh wants everything in order in twenty five days or less." Seto said grimly. "I...I don't know. It's a lot of pressure for a bunch of kids, isn't it?"

The pair came to the entrance to the temple, looking out into the bustling city, so oblivious to the deep and dark horrors taking place behind the palace walls.

"Be seeing you." Isis said, taking off to the right as Seto parted to the left.

""""

"So, let me get this straight." Isis said menacingly, seated in the center of a small, stone and dark room on a stool, one hand at her side and the other holding a pair of clampers that was dipped into a boiling pot. "Your husband came home one day with half a million golden debens, told you to hide it in the house opposed to taking it to a bank, and offered no explanation."

Right next to her was a plain stone slab. A fairly young girl, perhaps twenty, had been laid down and chained to it, hands over her head, wearing nothing but a peasant gown. Small, with light skin and brown hair, she was sweating profusely, eyes on the clamper and pot, shaking in fear.

"Yes...yes, I swear, that's what happened, please-" She said quietly.

"Not suspicious to you at all? I mean, you do know we're in the middle of some fairly turbulent times, right? And you are aware that your husband works within the palace, and makes only the equivalent of thirty thousand golden debens a year?" Isis continued to question, slowly pulling a glowing hot coal from the boiling pot.

The woman's eyes shot open at seeing the coal. "Yes, I-"

Isis dropped it back into the pot suddenly, a dull clank as it joined other similar hunks of mineral. "How curious. You're not a very smart one, are you? I think a good citizen of Egypt, a team player, would report this to the local authorities."

She kept staring at the clampers, eyes wide with fear.

"It's time to be a team player, Miss...Hathor was it? Your husband was in communications with a mole inside the palace and took a bribe to assassinate the Pharaoh. My job is to find out who this insider is, and you're the only lead." She took another smoking coal from the pot, drawing whimpers from Hathor. "Surely they didn't communicate with each other and transfer such large funds within the palace walls. You keep track of where your husband goes outside of work, don't you?" She placed the clamper's thongs, coal within it's grasp, on the slab right next to Hathor's stomach. "Any theories?"

Hathor tried to squirm away from the hot coal, but could only shift over a couple inches. She started panting. "No. No, I had no idea what my husband was doing, I don't know anything."

"Oh...I think you must know something." Isis insisted, shifting the thongs closer to her side. "I'll let you in on a little something. I'm not an interrogator. I've never done this before in my life. I'm not enjoying myself right now, and I highly doubt I'm any good at it. I'm only here because our little spy problem is best kept secret from as many people as possible, including our professional interrogators."

"Look, I've already been down here two days, I've been miserable, I swear I would have told you anything I knew by now-"

"Miserable?" Isis interrupted. "By now? I'm afraid we haven't even begun the interrogation yet. The last two days have just been...holding you here."

"Oh it's been horrible!" She shrieked. "The food, the screams, the sleeping conditions...please, I would have told anyone anything after two hours down here. I swear I don't-"

The coal suddenly touched, burning right through her plain gown and searing into the flesh of her side. She hissed, flinching towards her right, breaking the contact but not before a black burn mark had formed on her skin. She started to moan pitifully.

"And I swear, to you, that I didn't enjoy that one bit." Isis said in her low voice. She dropped the coal back into the pot. "So I'm going to ask you one more time, before I turn you over to our professionals, who is the mole?"

"I don't know!" She wailed. "I...wait, what do you mean professionals?"

"Our interrogators, of course." Isis replied sweetly.

"But I don't know anything!" She insisted, tugging on the chains on her wrists and ankles. "I didn't do anything wrong, you can't-"

"You were presented with enough evidence to indicate your husband was doing something suspicious. Evidence that would have led to him being detained and questioned. You decided to do nothing since you stood to benefit from his actions, that's enough to make me consider you an accomplice here." She jabbed the red hot clamper thongs into the spot that had just been burned by the coal, leading to more pitiful screams and wails from Hathor. This time, Isis held it there. "That makes you an accomplice to the attempted assassination of the Pharaoh. Leaving the business of your punishment."

She pulled the thongs back and dropped them back into the pot, leaving Hathor to start sobbing in pain.

"Since you don't have any leverage, I can tell you right now you're going to be sentenced to the yellow room for six months." Isis continued over Hathor's crying. "You sleep in a tiny, lightless stone chamber that's randomly heated to scalding temperatures. They chain your palms and soles to heated metal plates and leave you there until you pass out from the pain. Course, it's hard to pass out when you're so stimulated, so you're stuck there for quite some time I hear. Oh it's horrible, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone." She started to sob even louder now. "But that's exactly where you're going, and you'll be so disfigured in six months not even your own mother will recognize you."

"Please, I...I-I'm sorry-" She babbled through her tears.

"If you weren't sorry, my description of the yellow room wouldn't have done it's job." Isis cut her off. "But I can't go up to the Pharaoh and tell him that a girl was indirectly responsible for his near assassination, but it's okay now because she's sorry."

She stood up, as Hathor looked at her in abject terror, tears still streaming from her eyes. "Of course...maybe we can cut a deal. I know you loved your husband, and he probably make you promise to keep his secret. But now he's dead, the gold has been confiscated, and I highly doubt you'll survive your sentence, so if you know anything..."

Hathor panted heavily, head laying back on the slab, still silently crying. Isis shrugged.

"It didn't have to be like this." She said, reaching down to the ground next to her by the boiling pot, picking a fist sized stone ball on a strap off the floor.

Hathor glanced up and this caught her eye. "What...what's that? What's-"

"This is a gag." Isis said, holding it up in front of her. "You see, I've told you quite a bit of classified information, I can't have you blabbing it up around the other prisoners and interrogators." She stretched the strap out. "It's a pretty effective device, whoever came up with it knew what he was doing."

Hathor looked at it, panting heavily still, eyes as wide as cracker plates.

"There have been explicit instructions to keep this on you at all times. Only I can remove it, in such a situation where we are both alone. So if you have anything you'd like to say, say it now, because once this thing is on the only thing passing your lips is going to be drool." Isis said as she began to lower it down towards her mouth.

Hathor whimpered again, turning her head to the right as far as she could, shaking with fear again.

"I'll be back to see if you've remembered something. Few days, maybe a week, we'll see how it looks on my schedule." Isis put the stone sphere on her lips, ready to snake the strap around her head to meet the other strap on the opposite side.

"Waitwait!" Hathor suddenly screamed. "Okayokay, I-"

"Yes?" Isis pressed, still casually moving to secure the gag.

"There was a girl!" She managed to spit out past the stone. Isis pulled the gag off her face and dropped it on the slab next to her head.

"I'm listening." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A few nights ago, dead middle of the night, my husband met with someone in the living room for a few minutes." She confessed. "I got up for a minute, went down to see what was going on. He told me to go back to bed. The next morning, he had that sack. Told me to hide it. And that night he...well, he didn't come home." She sniffed loudly.

"Okay." Isis said dully. "A girl. That cuts our suspect list in half."

"She...she was most unusual." She continued. "Pale as a ghost, yellow golden hair...I've never seen anyone like her in Egypt before. It was as if she had never spent a minute under the sun here."

"Why were you protecting her?" Isis asked, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Well it...there's just no way! She was young, seemed so sweet and innocent! I mean, it's laughable to think she would be-"

"We'll decide that." Isis replied. "Now, was that so hard? You've been very helpful, and proven to be a team player. And we reward our team players." She picked up the stone gag again and moved to place it on Hathor's mouth again.

"WHAT'RE YOU-"

"Shhhh." Isis hissed, shoving the stone into her mouth and swiftly strapping it in as her protests turned to dull grunts and moans. "You'll be held here for a couple more hours, at most, just to confirm a few things. And I'm afraid the things we've discussed are still taboo around everyone else." Slowly, Hathor stopped moaning and turned her head to look at Isis. "So, while you're around other people, the gag is required. Now, I'm going to leave and have you escorted to a isolated holding cell. Once you're inside there, you can take the gag off. Understand?"

She nodded.

"It won't be for long. Another escort will come to collect you so you can confirm our suspect. You'll have to put the gag back in when he comes, please don't resist his commands." Isis explained as she continued to calm down. "Once we get confirmation from you, we can discuss the matter of your compensation." She lightly patted her forehead. "You've done the right thing, and you'll be rewarded for it, just like I promised. You'll get a nice house anywhere you'd like and enough gold to never have to work again. I'll even have your burn taken care of, as long as you continue to cooperate."

She nodded again.

Isis stood straight up and turned around, getting to the steel door that provided the only exit to the room. She knocked sharply on the steel, and immediately she could hear the gears in the door turning. It slid open and she stepped out.

Slowly, in a daze, she took a few steps out, a blank expression on her face. Then, she fell to her knees, hands on her face, starting to loudly sob herself as the door slammed back shut.

The warden approached her, having been standing by the door waiting for her to emerge, looking down at her mystified. "Ma'am, are you okay? Have you been hurt?"

"Oh...I-I was horrible." She moaned miserably. "Oh I felt...felt so bad for her." She let her hands drop. "I didn't know I had it in me to...to-...how do you guys do it every day? Oh, Ra, I'm exhausted." She sighed deeply. "I'm...I'm okay, but...oh-"

"Priestess, you did what you had to do. This woman committed a serious crime, and was withholding information." The warden insisted. "Your act in there, which I'm sure was very good, was necessary."

"I was so cruel though!" She said, taking another deep breath. "Oh...I'll have to make it up to her somehow. I feel horrible." She looked down at the ground.

"Please, what happened?" The warden asked, almost extending his hand to help her up but then deciding against it.

She cleared her throat and stood up. "Have her taken to an isolated holding cell, a nice one if possible. Keep her gagged at all times that she's within speaking range of anyone. I'll send someone down to get her shortly. She cooperated and cut a deal."

"Good, good." The warden pointed at two guards, then back at the steel door. They moved forward towards it. "I presume you still can't tell me what this is about?"

"Right." Isis confirmed. She started stepping forward herself, towards the door opposite them in the large, dark, stone room that made up the first main room of the dungeons. "I have some business to take care of."

""""

The door to Atemu's bedroom flew open, causing Atemu to jump from his seat. His eyes found Isis, Seto, and Aknadin at the door, quickly stepping in to reveal others behind them. Two guards flanked Knuit, hands chained behind her back and ankles chained together, head hanging down. They picked her up at the elbows, dragging her into the room, throwing her face-first to the ground in front of Atemu. The three priests looked down at her pathetic figure, trembling on the floor.

Next in was another woman flanked by two guards, this one unbound, but gagged by a stone ball. She stepped forward in stride with the pair of egyptian soldiers. Looking down at the figure on the floor, she suddenly picked her eyes up and saw Pharaoh Atemu. Quite suddenly, she threw herself down on her hands and knees, supplicating herself before the Pharaoh, shiverring in fear yet again as she bowed her head down until her nose touched the floor.

"Hathor, wife to Ptah?" Atemu asked. She nodded meekly, still staring at the floor right below her.

"Stand." He commanded. Slowly, she did so, going red as a sunburned peasant. Isis stepped forward next to her.

"Turn her over." Isis instructed the two guards further into the room. They did so, placing Knuit on her back, looking up at the ceiling, her sobbing now more visible.

"Hathor, in a moment, I will remove your gag so you may answer this question. Please answer briefly and say nothing but your answer, or I will have no choice but to take whatever measures I deem necessary to withhold classified information that you have knowledge of. Is this girl, on the floor in front of you, the same girl who met with your husband the night before his death?"

Hathor leaned in slightly closer, looking hard at the face of the girl, who had finally opened her eyes, taking a quick glance at Hathor before turning away in shame.

Isis reached up, loosened the strap, and pulled the stone from her mouth, letting it down like a necklace.

"Yes." Hathor said immediately.

"Are you sure?" Isis questioned further, looking down at Knuit.

"Positive." She insisted.

Isis put the gag back in her mouth and tightened the strap. "Please follow your escort outside and wait, I will be there in a few moments to discuss your release and reward." She did as asked, still deathly embarrassed she was in the presence of the Pharaoh drooling like an infant.

Atemu nodded at the two guards who had taken Knuit in. "Where was she when you found her?"

"Still in her quarters, sleeping, sir." The left one responded.

He looked at the door. The pair quickly slipped out of the room and shut the door behind them.

"You should have tried running weeks ago." Atemu said threateningly, stepping forward and bending down towards Knuit. "I supposed I should have suspected it immediately." He put his hand forward, toward her chin, but she snapped her head away. "I almost forgot you were even here. So I suppose you did your job as well as anyone could have hoped. Tell me, how long have you been spying for the Israelis?" He stood back up and started walking around her.

"M-mighty, Almighty Pharaoh. Please, I beg you, they got to my parents, they-"

Atemu brought his foot down hard on Knuit's shin at this, drawing a scream of pain from her.

"SHUT UP!" He demanded. Her screams finally waned down to scattered whimpers. "A true Egyptian would have sacrificed her whole family before selling out the Pharaoh." He hissed. "What did you do?"

"They...they heard you had a soft spot for Teana, so they went after her best friend. Me. They just wanted someone on the inside, a sleeper, in case things got ugly."

Atemu came back around to her head, and crouched down, looking her dead into the eyes. "Go on."

"They...they set things up so I could bribe someone to kill you as soon as your old man-"

Atemu brutally kicked her in the side of the head, causing her to spin a few inches, more moans of pain coming from her mouth. "Pharaoh Aknamkanon." He hissed.

"If...if Pharaoh Aknamkanon died, they wanted me to do it as soon as I found out. They set it all up beforehand, they even found someone who could be bought." She continued, labored breathing punctuating everything. "That's all I did, I swear."

"All you did?" Atemu spat. "Do you have any idea what's waiting for you down in the dungeon? Do you know what we do to people who betray the Pharaoh?"

"Please, I-" Knuit babbled as Atemu grabbed her by the dress collar and picked her up.

"Did Teana have any idea? Any clue at all?" He demanded, shaking her violently.

"No...I swear I worked alone. I was only targetted because Teana moved into the palace." She said weakly. "Please don't hurt her, she-"

Atemu threw her down to the ground, back onto her back. "Oh, don't worry about her. In a few weeks, you and her are going to be in practically opposite positions, in fact, and that's a guarantee."

He crouched back down in front of her, looking right into her eyes. "We have a very special planned form of pain for those who plot against the Pharaoh, miss. A very specific and precise series of excruciatingly painful series of tortures. It's our little way of letting Anubis know just how naughty you've been. It's how we mark you to be placed in the deepest circle of suffering in the afterlife. So, over the next few weeks, as this procedure is applied, as you're begging for the release of death...understand that your suffering has not truly begun until you're passed to Anubis."

"No." She stammered. "Please, have mercy, surely-"

Atemu ignored her and stood back up. "Enter." He called, and after a few seconds the two guards who had just left emerged back through the door.

Atemu went over to his desk and pulled out another slip of paper. Quickly he wrote on it with his pen, filling out a few sentences, before grabbing a small stamp from the back of his desk and pushing it down on the parchment. He folded it up and presented it to the pair.

"This girl goes down to the dungeon. Give this slip to the warden." He instructed, handing them the parchment. "He'll know what to do."

"Yes, mighty Pharaoh." The left guard said, the two bowed before moving to flank Knuit. They picked her up and began roughly carrying her out of the room, even as she continued to stammer incoherently.

The door slammed behind the three again, and the four remaining in the room glanced around at each other.

"Isis, you've done very well. And I appreciate it." Atemu said. Isis replied with a short bow.

"We're only part way there." He continued. "The leak is plugged, let's keep working." He clapped his hands together.

"Pharaoh-" Aknadin started, but was immediately cut off.

"Say a single bad word about Teana and I'll have you committed to the crazy house. And I'm dead serious." Atemu immediately threatened.

Aknadin couldn't help but smile at this. Seto did his best to hold back his own laughter, not entirely succeeding.

"If you trust her." Aknadin settled on. "I understand."

"We've got two more weeks to wrap this up, all or nothing." Atemu changed the subject. "Make me proud."

""""

Seto sat cross legged on a large stone stool in the middle of the busy room, as if he was in the eye of a storm. All around him, people were moving, talking loudly, and at work on one of the many carpentry machines. No one voice could be made out clearly, and no one machine's whirs and roars could be singled out.

"Horus." Seto said, the man right next to him immediately turned to face the priest. "Keep everything moving smoothly. We've only got a week left, I'm going to burn the candle at both ends a little bit." He closed his eyes and began to filter the sounds around him out.

"Yes sir!" Horus replied, moving to inspect everything happening in the room.

No artificial perfumes, no supplementary chemicals, no mystical devices, Seto would try and meditate on this by himself. One thing he had not yet truly tried, for so many insisted it was a waste of time. Of course, as he had been taught many times, anything is capable of producing a vision at any given time, and probabilities were constantly shifting.

The leak had been plugged. They had two hundred thousand fully functioning crossbows, and expected to have three hundred thousand by the deadline. They had it. It was all there for the taking. There was just one issue remaining.

The businessmen hit at all hours of the day, whatever openings they may have provided for attack random and unpredictable. Any attempts on their life would be based on nothing but luck, the kind of luck reserved for winning the golden lottery. They needed a break...a big break.

He saw a huge light gray stone house, the sun hanging low in the sky. No movement, no signs of life. And then a figure emerged from the shadows at the back of the house, into the backyard. He was carrying something. It looked like a wooden bucket. A large brick wall circled the house, he moved all the way up to it and began dumping the contents out through a small gap in the solid red and white wall, leaving it to drip out a small ramp.

"Hey!" Now there was a man on the balcony on the second floor of the house. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm dumping out the grease from the-" The man near the wall called back.

"Haven't I told you to let the guards handle that? Get back inside the house!" The balcony man demanded.

"Those lazy pigs dump it in the garden! They think I don't know, but I see them!" He insisted. "And don't be absurd, we're still quite untouchable here."

"Just get back in!" The man on the balcony quickly ducked backed into the house, and inspite of his words the other made haste to return himself.

Seto opened his eyes again, quickly looking around the room at the process of engineering all around him. He shook his head violently. He jumped to his feet.

"Horus!" He yelled out. "Keep it moving, I have to go take care of something!" He distractedly shoved through the crowd on his way toward the door that led back up to the main floor.

""""

He wrote the contents of his vision down on a piece of parchment quickly, making sure all important details were committed to something solid before he continued on. It was something.

The men had been David and Michael. David emptied the grease, Michael berated him for putting himself out in the open. Both had put themselves in position to be attacked. It was possible, but it was only a piece of the puzzle. It was later in the day, the sun was setting, not quite dusk but close. It might only take one well-trained assassin. That much he knew.

As soon as it was all transcripted, he sat back again and faded out of reality, hoping his next would be as useful as the last. He spent hours wading through useless information, sifting for anything he could use.

Slowly, it came. The guard movement patterns, a small gap that might be enough to get a lone man to a collection of large bushes less than a hundred feet from where the grease was thrown. A small argument between two of the guards watching over the entrance to the city, distracting enough to allow a few to pass through without truly close inspection. A small explosion from inside a housing complex a few blocks from the house that hid the targets, drawing the attention of nearby guards.

He wrote it all down. It felt right. If only, someone, they could get a man to pass through the gates right after that argument. To make his move through the town right after that explosion. To get to the vantage point in the brief moment when the guards were patrolling on another road. To launch two perfectly aimed arrows from a miniature bow that could easily be hidden on a person within a few seconds of each other.

He mapped everything out, piece by piece. He saw the day, a week from now, on a slip of paper at the entrance. He measured out the exact time based on the actions of others around the scene. He even measured the wind at the moment David provided a target at the grease hole.

By the time he was done, it was already the following morning. But he felt complete confidence in one thing. Anyone who followed the instructions he had penned, to the very letter, would have the best possibly opportunity to assassinate the two.

And right now, that's all he could ask for.

""""

"I know you're eager to prove yourself, Seto." Atemu said, looking at the long scroll of parchment in front of him. He was seated on a large round table, the seat opposite the door leaving the private meeting room of the inner circle. He was surrounded on all sides by the ranking priests and priestesses. His old friends, now officially the highest authorities in Egypt, and Aknadin, a holdover from the previous administration. "This is an unheard of amount of information for one priest to glean in one day."

"It's completely reliable." Seto insisted, seated to the immediate right of the Pharaoh. "I wouldn't lie, not in a time such as this. I have seen the one opportunity we might ever get to truly end this war. I'm staking my entire credibility on it."

Atemu slowly nodded, then looked to his left and right slowly at everyone else. "Anything to the contrary anyone would like to say?"

No objections came. Atemu rolled the scroll back up. "Very well." He stuck it towards Seto. "Take this to the barracks. Get it to Bes. Tell him to memorize it and prepare to enact it in six days. Shada, make the preparations to get him to Israel in time."

The two stood up, bowed, and swiftly left the room.

Atemu stood up, an action followed by all remaining in the room. "It's all coming together. The rest of you, continue preparations for my wedding."

"Pharaoh." Karim began. "With all due respect, is now the best time to think about your wedding? Perhaps we could push the event back, just maybe a week? Let this war settle-"

"The war has already been decided, Karim." Atemu insisted. "There's nothing left for us to think about." He looked down at a small golden pail to the right of his chair, holding a series of large, rolled up pieces of paper. He pulled one out and pushed it across the table, revealing a map of Egypt and surrounding countries. Buhen and Mahad reached out to grab the opposite corners, holding it flat.

"The invaders are working as one in their assault on Egypt." Atemu explained, pointing at the map at the borders of Egypt. "Intelligence indicates enemy presence from all sides are around fifty to seventy miles out, closing in quickly. They're going to try and break us in one massive attack, from every angle, hoping we leave a weakpoint somewhere."

Isis looked down at the paper, forehead furrowed. "That leaves us around-"

"Six days." Atemu finished. "They're not ready for my prototype. They're running right into a massacre that will singlehandedly destroy their confidence. Seto's visions tell us that our one chance, the one opening they provide for an assassination, is coming late in the afternoon in six days. Once dead, their deep pockets will flow to their family members and close friends, who have no interest in the drug trade and will not be funding surrounding nations to attack us. And lastly, she who tried to bring the great kingdom of Egypt down from the inside, who's soul is being prepared for the everlasting torment that awaits her, is scheduled to meet her demise in six days. And once it's done, this grand palace will again be secure, and nobody will ever think to cross me in such a way again."

"It's a busy day." Aknadin deadpanned. "Busy enough, if you ask me."

"A special day. An important day. We'll enter that day as a nation in strife, at war, doomed to death at the hands of everyone else in the world. We leave as the dominant superpower, all other nations terrified of our might." He tugged the map off the table, causes it to roll back up. He put it back in the pail. "Gentlemen, lady, we need to be at our sharpest. For people will remember this day, six days from now, as the most important day in Egyptian history."

""""

"I trust everything's proceding as planned." Atemu asked, looking around the particularly dull and dank room of the dungeon. The room was well hidden, as if being in the dungeon wasn't already enough. You had to go past all of the generic torture rooms. Beyond simple basic pain. No door would take you down here, you had to know where on the far wall of the hallway to push. You had to know which step down to pound on. You had to know exactly where you were going to find The Room of The Mark. Normally empty of any humans, today saw the Pharaoh just a few steps inside the room, the head interrogator before him, two assistants flanking her, their heads covered by featureless black masks, and one unfortunate victim, currently not visible.

"Of course, sir." Bast replied, bowing deeply. "Would you like to see the final procedure?"

"I am here for no other reason." Atemu nodded.

Bast snapped her fingers and pointed at a massive brass bull that was in a corner of the room right by the segment of the wall that slid over to reveal the way out. Immediately, one of the assistants took a few steps over to a stone stand in the middle of the room, several steel levers sticking out from the top. He pulled one of them towards him, and the brass bull's side suddenly popped open to reveal a hollow inside. Immediately, a hardly recognizable Knuit threw herself out of the device, completely naked and too exhausted to do anything but lay haphazardly on the ground where she landed.

"We call it the Brazen Bull." Bast explained. "And it's become very familiar with it over the past couple weeks. It's placed inside and the outside is heated to the temperature of our choosing. It screams like mad constantly, but this particular Bull has been completely soundproofed. If hot enough, and left in for long enough, it will melt like wax, leaving only the bones. It's been begging for us to just let it die in there nonstop when it's capable of speech."

The two assistants grabbed her arms and dragged her towards the center of the room. Atemu could see her arms and legs had been broken and left to dangle at strange angles. Her entire body was covered in burn marks. Some of the fingers and toes were missing entirely, others had been crushed.

"It's suffered far worse than what you see." Bast said, pointing at Knuit as she was dropped at Atemu's feet. "It's been starved half to death twice, hasn't slept more than two hours since it got here, is always kept in constant fear of more pain, been almost drowned countless times, and has been bitten by many a poisonous creature."

Atemu crouched down to look at her closer. Slowly, she moved her head so she could look up at him. "Too good for her." He hissed, even as he smiled cruelly at her. He stood back up.

She started trying to move her mangled right arm towards Atemu, capable of little more than thrusting the upper arm forward and having the rest of it flop aimlessly. She managed to get her hand on top of his slipper-clad foot. "Please-" She managed to get out.

Atemu kicked the hand away, sending it back to her side, drawing a sharp cry of pain. He then bent back down, grabbed her by the hair, and picked her up. This drew more painful screams as her broken bones shifted about randomly.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." Atemu said through gritted teeth. "It's almost over."

Still holding her hair, he quickly moved towards the Bull. She noticed this out of the corner of her eye, but was capable of little more than widening her eyes as Atemu roughly shoved her cheek against the heated bronze, drawing a piercing scream. Atemu could feel the heat of the device on his arm, but held her there for several seconds.

Finally, he let her hair go, allowing her to fall to the floor like a broken ragdoll.

One of the assistants came to her side and dropped a light white object right next to her head. She painfully twisted her head to see it. It was a loaf of bread. Through the grunts of pain, she twisted herself enough to start taking bites out of it, without the use of hands, simply putting her face up to it and biting madly.

"It's so agonizingly hungry that I could explain to it exactly what's in that bread and it would still gobble the entire thing up." Bast said, looking down at Knuit finishing the loaf off.

Atemu once again bent down next to her head, looking down into her eyes. "Thank you for being so cooperative." He said in barely a whisper. "That loaf was filled with thousands of tiny parasites. Hungry parasites. The priests create them from the ashes of men, by way of ritual with Anubis himself. This is how the traitors to the throne are marked. When Anubis sees you accompanied by his depraved creations, he'll know exactly what to do."

She whimpered pitifully, but Atemu paid it no heed.

"They're always hungry, but they eat very slowly. And right now, there's only one thing for them to eat. Over the next several hours, they'll consume you from the inside out. You might start feeling twinges soon, a couple of hours from now you'll be writhing in pain." She started to sob, incapable of vocalizing her duress more than a small sniffle here and there still. "The parasites feel your agony, they desire it as much as they do the food your body provides. Your vital organs remain for as long as possible, you'll feel everything."

At this, one of the assistants dragged her back to the center of the room. She looked down at the stone floor and realized, for the first time, it wasn't all stone. Right below her face was a dark black rectangle of metal, level with the rest of the stone tiled floor, not immediately obvious but there when actually searched for.

The other assistant lifted this sheet out of the hole in the ground it covered, pulling it back to reveal a small chamber, perhaps ten feet deep, ten feet long and five feet wide.

"This is where you'll spend your final hours." Atemu explained, peering down into the chamber. "Sort of like a tomb, although since the parasites consume your bones too, there won't be anything left of you when they're done."

Bast now came forward, holding a wool blanket haphazardly folded in her arms. On cue, the two assistants grabbed Knuit's wrists and held them a few inches apart in front of her. Bast dropped the contents inside the blanket, a small blue sphere, into her forced grip. She winced as the ball seered itself to her fingertips.

"You'll be needing that." Atemu said unhelpfully as she looked down at it, mystified. Suddenly, it started giving off a glowing aura of blue bright light. She looked away from the orb, squinting her eyes. Atemu then pushed her with his foot into the gap, leaving her to awkwardly fall the ten foot drop into the temporary grave, her hands still fused to the ball. She landed on her back, looking up at her executioners.

"The parasites don't like the blue light. It repels them." Atemu explained. Suddenly, tiny little holes in the wall slid open all around the bottom of the grave. She glanced around in all directions in a panic. Thanks to the glowing blue light, she could make out nondescript black masses pouring out of all the holes, closing in toward her.

"We figure it'd take them all day if they only work from the inside out, you see. So these guys will meet the ones in your stomach somewhere in the middle, working on you from the outside in."

She started to pant heavily as she continued to throw her head around as much as she could, but the black masses wouldn't come within a foot of her. They encircled her, scattered around the floor, went up the walls a few inches, and were giving off a low buzzing sound all at once that sent shivers down Knuit's spine.

"They'll work quickly, so we've given you protection for a few hours. That ball's energy runs out pretty shortly, right around the time the guys inside you are really starting to drive you nuts. And then, these guys get to join in on the fun." Atemu continued, enjoying himself immensely. "Well, I think that's about it. So you can spend the next few hours thinking about what you've done, and after that...well, I don't think you'll be thinking about anything except agonizing pain."

The metal sheet began to slide back over the rectangular hole. "No!" Knuit cried with surprising volume, reaching up awkwardly toward Atemu as the gap became more and more narrow. "Wait! No, you can't do this! Please, I'll-" and then, the cover fell heavily back into place, shutting off all sound from inside the tomb.

""""

"Phara-Atemu, please, this doesn't make any sense!" Teana exclaimed. She was currently seated on a reclined, cushioned chair, hands on the armrests. She was being attended to by five other women, one at each hand, foot, and another behind her head. They were in the preparation room for the bride, and Teana had already been put into a beautiful egyptian wedding dress, a long strapless one that fell down to just above her feet and had been woven with fibers that had painstakingly been encrusted with gold. Diamonds encircled both of her shoulders and the bottom of the dress, a sapphire flower over her right chest area. Both of her hands's fingernails were being painted red, and her feet were being carefully scrubbed for any callouses.

"I'm afraid she's simply gone." Atemu shrugged, watching the process from a few feet in front of his soon-to-be bride. "Something important must have come up."

"Knuit has been my friend for years, I can understand her needing to leave the palace, but she wouldn't miss my wedding day, especially not-hey!" She pulled her right foot back. "Knock that off!"

The woman behind her was trimming her hair with a tiny pair of scissors, looking for any slight imperfections in length on a single follicle.

"Anyway, Atemu, we have to find her, I don't want her to miss this!" She asked again, eyes wide in concern for her friend.

Atemu grimaced. "If she doesn't show up, I'm sure she has a good reason. But I can't delay the wedding because of one person, I'm sure she'd understand."

She cast her eyes down slightly. "Well...alright, I'm sure she'll show up." She finally said. She glanced left and right quickly at her hands. "What are they doing?" She lifted her hands up, staring at her fingernails. "What is this? I kinda like it."

"Egyptian royalty has traditionally done it on special occasions, maybe it'll catch on one day."

"Yeah, it's a nice-hey!" She pulled her right foot back again, pointing at the woman working on that foot. "She is doing that on purpose!" She insisted, crossing her arms.

"Ease up." Atemu said to the girl as Teana put her foot back. "Alright, see you out there in a couple minutes?"

"No problem." Teana nodded. Atemu looked down at himself one last time, making sure his own suit, sown together of silver threads, was still impeccably put together. He then moved to his right and stepped through a thick blue curtain into the outside world, exiting the hut.

He squinted through the sun, looking down from the elevated platform. The massive patio before him was loaded with people, nobody wanted to miss this day. Any space not occupied by a person on this massive concrete plain was taken by a elongated marble table, loaded with the most wonderful and exotic treats in the world. Hands constantly went over these platforms, picking various food and drink from where they sat. As Atemu came to the edge of the raised platform, a man to his right blew a trumpet across the populated patio, drawing attention to his presence. Everyone in the crowd immediately bowed to their grand leader, as he casually waved.

On either side of the patio, massive banners had been hung at intervals, all a stark white with various figures woven into them, fluttering in the breeze. The borders of the patio had small white marble pillars, each supporting a golden figurine of some legendary figure in Egyptian past. It was indeed a beautiful day.

The trumpet sounded again. Atemu glanced over to the curtains to see Teana emerge, now wearing a headdress, white with gold trimmings, and diamond-laced sandals. She hurriedly stepped up to the edge of the raised platform to wave at the Egyptian subjects below her excitedly. Atemu smiled warmly at her, seeing the excitement in her eyes as she did so.

""""

Finally, activity in the distance. Through the swirling sandstorm, unmistakable figures were marching forward. As they moved closer, the soldiers along the top of the guard wall could make out their heads wrapped in cloth, shielding themselves from the cruel sandy winds.

The top of the wall had been filled with men today, just enough room to stand. Many held a simple bow, ready with an arrow to fire, with a large bucket full of arrows stationed every several feet for quick reloading. Several, however, held in their hands the crown jewel of Egypt. A bow affixed to a specially carved stick. A tube loaded with arrows hung at the bottom of the stick so that the arrow at the top of the tube was positioned inside the top groove of the device, where the bowstring could launch it. A small bit jutted out of the bottom of the device, right by the wooden grip near the back, that was pulled back to release the taut string.

They called it a crossbow. And in mere hours, having never known the things existed before (since they hadn't, after all), the armies of Egypt had more than enough capable volunteers to use them in a live battle. They were so unbelievably easy to use, and yet so deadly. It was unbelievable that such a device could even exist.

Each of the crossbow wielders had a barrel by their side, these filled with loaded tubes, ensuring a constant stream of arrows from their weapons. They couldn't possibly be ready for something like this.

"Can you believe this?" Rahap asked Mery, standing next to him in the rows to the right as they pointed their crossbows down towards the oncoming hordes. "What deal with the devil did the Pharaoh have to make to get these things you think?"

"I heard he promised the Goddess Sekhmet his first three children if she would give him the means to win this war." Mery whispered back.

Imph grunted, to the left of the pair. "I heard it was a thousand virgin girls. Course, Thoth thinks he promised her his new queen. Speaking of which, can you believe we're missing the wedding? We must be the only damn Egyptians in the whole nation to miss it-"

"Well, there are a lot of us here." Rahap pointed out, gesturing randomly around him. "Besides, we've been promised just compensation. And really, when you get down to it, what's so great about a wedding?"

"The food, man. I've been to Pharaoh's birthday parties, they get the good stuff." Imph countered. "I hate to miss out on that."

"Alright!" Came a cry from the left. "Crossbows fire on my mark. If you are carrying a bow, remember, your range is shorter than that of the crossbows, wait for them to come within your range before you start firing!"

They could hear more of the same being called out further down the line as the sentiment was echoed by further commanders.

"I bet I could teach my kid to use one of these." Rahap said as he angled the weapon up into the air.

"_Your_ kid?" Mery said gruffly as he did the same.

But before any more back and forth could start, the commander from the left screamed "Fire!" and immediately all the crossbow wielders in the area began firing their payload.

Arrows were launched off within perhaps a second of the previous, each with precision accuracy as dictated by the holder. A cloud of arrows much thicker than anticipated built in the air above the unsuspecting marching army.

In just about ten seconds, the empty tubes simply fell from the crossbow, emptied of their ten arrow arsenal. As Rahap bent down to pick up another barrel to slam home, he looked down at the oncoming armies. He couldn't be quite sure, but as the thick arrow cluster came down on them in the sands, he thought he saw a slight hesitation in the step of the unwitting victims, just a short pause in their gait, as they looked up and saw a strangely thick arrow cloud.

As Rahap began to fire his new set of arrows, along with all the others lucky enough to hold such deadly devices, he saw the first to land, haphazardly scattering around into the soldiers opposite them, dropping them to the sands with precision and speed far beyond a simple bow. He saw the early panic in the troops, they had not been expecting such early arrow strikes or such immediate casualties.

He saw the future of warfare, right there, in his hands.

""""

Aknadin faced the massive crowd, all closely paying attention to the procedings, near the edge of the platform, as Atemu and Teana faced him from the very edge. As he spoke, a hush went over the crowd, complete silence in the hope of catching what he said.

"Today, we welcome a new member into the royal family. A bride for our young Pharaoh, the new Queen of these great lands." Aknadin began.

Atemu glanced to his left, where his mother stood, hands clasped in front of her, a smile on her face as she watched the procedings. He turned his attention back to his Uncle.

"The young, beautiful Teana takes the hand of the young wise Pharaoh Atemu in marriage, a wonderful woman to guide him through the perils of his reign, as many great Queens of the past have done. Now is a turbulent time in Egypt, as everyone knows. She has lived in the palace for many months now, already guiding the young Pharaoh through life as he makes these massive decisions. So already, she's proven herself, as Egypt still stands today. However, let us take this glorious day as the first of a new age in Egypt. One greater than any before it! The age of Pharaoh Atemu and Queen Teana has now begun, let's prepare for a grand time of peace!"

""""

All Knuit could do was scream. The orb in her hands had very nearly died completely. She had scrunched herself up the best she could as the parasites were getting closer and closer to her body as the light went away, buying a few extra minutes. As the pain wracked her body she occasionally unvoluntarily moved a few inches, and she could feel the tiny things attempt to cling onto her when she did so, so it was all she could do just to delay the extra torment.

The horrible things inside her had clearly worked their way to all parts of her body. There wasn't a single nerve inside her that wasn't burning with the most intense pain ever felt by a human. She howled like a madwoman, not a sane thought in her head beyond the survival instinct of trying to keep away from the other parasites.

She curled up tighter into the fetal position, faintly glowing sphere hugged tightly to her stomach, as she continued to scream in agony. Sweat covered her entire body as she managed to glance around for a brief second at the approaching swarms. The light continued to dim out of existence. As fear settled in, she had a brief moment of clarity, the pain blocked out for just a short time.

The light died entirely, and she drew breath heavily and laboredly as pure horror gripped her. And then, as soon as she felt the first curious sensation on her left foot, the pain came roaring back as the unearthly hordes covered her in a sudden wave, amidst her violent and pained yells.

""""

"And now." Aknadin began to wrap up, as a short fat man emerged from the curtained area holding a small purple pillow, on which lay a golden necklace consisting of many emeralds and rubies. "Queen Teana, they say the Pharaohs descend from the Gods themselves. While you may not, from this day forward, they will recognize you as one of their own." The man had stopped just short of Aknadin's left, and he took the necklace and slowly clasped it around the back of her neck, as she beamed proudly.

After it was attached, the pair turned around to again wave to the crowd, who had begun to cheer uproariously. It was official. The new Pharaoh had a Queen. A rare event, coming around only perhaps three times a century.

After a few seconds, Atemu tugged on Teana's hand, glancing over at the staircase to their left that led down to the masses. A platoon of guards waited down at the bottom of this set of stairs, blocking it off from the crowd. The newlyweds slowly descended the steps, looking out on the massive audience the entire time.

They arrived at the bottom and the group of guards began to escort them through, as everyone continued to applaud and cheer the marriage.

"They love being near us." Atemu said out of the side of his mouth to Teana.

"Are you sure it's safe?" She asked, still tightly gripping Atemu's hand.

"I like our chances." Atemu answered.

""""

Bes heard a dull clank from the area of the brick wall in front of him and aimed his arrow at the small gap. His heart was beating as hard and as fast as it ever had, for no matter how well he memorized his instructions, this whole thing terrified him. They might never get another chance. Here he was, the assassin who would singlehandedly decide this war.

And then, his heard jumped through his throat as he saw the grease fly out of the gap and pour down a small funnel into a large dirt hole several feet down.

He could just barely make out hissing, it was so quiet tonight, from behind that brick wall.

"Hey! What do you think you're-"

Bes fired his first arrow, immediately reaching to grab a second from under his robes. The bow, and the arrow, were both shrunken down, which made effective use somewhat harder, but he had spent years perfecting the art of making these covert weapons deadly. The arrow flew through the hole, right on target, and he could hear a satisfying cry of surprise and pain as it hit it's target.

As he readied his second shot, he stood up. It was perfect. The raise in his vantage point allowed him view of the balcony in the back of the house, over the brick wall, and the second man could be seen, frozen in shock at what had just transpired. Bes fired without hesitation, watching the bolt arc over the wall.

He thought, just maybe, the man had seen the arrow's tip just before it hit him, raising his eyes just in time to catch a glimpse before it penetrated him. But it was hard to be sure, and made no difference as the weapon pierced through his neck all the same.

He ducked back down, knowing alarms would be raised any second. Perhaps in that brief moment of shock and confusion he could escape the city, but anything less than ideal use of the situation would result in his eventual capture, torture and death.

Of course, he had long since accepted that likely fate when he took up this profession, and moreso when he took up this particular task. As he reflected on seeing his arrow cut a neat hole through the neck of his target, and imagined where his first arrow might have hit, he knew that either way, he'd be remembered in Egypt as a grand hero.

""""

Teana and Atemu waltz through the entrance into the palace, passing by the massive marble pillars that held up the massive covering over it. The crowd had been stopped at the base of the stone steps that lead up to it, and were now simply cheering as the new couple took the last few steps back into the palace alone.

Teana and Atemu again turned back around for one final wave at the populace. Right then, Atemu felt a sharp prick in his lower back, and before he could react someone had roughly grabbed the back of his suit and pulled him a inch or so backwards. His smile disappeared and his hand fell to his side.

"Where is she?" A female voice hissed in his ear menacingly as he felt what appeared to be a blade continue to prod at his lower back.

Teana turned around. Atemu watched her face as she did so, as her smile too disappeared as an expression of complete shock overtook her. "Suhad?" She exclaimed, looking the Pharaoh's attacker over.

"How did you get into the pal-" Atemu started, but felt the knife press into his back.

"Shut up!" She roared as the crowd, and guards, began to realize what was happening. "Where is my daughter?"

"Do not come up here!" Atemu shouted, holding out his palms to the crowd as Suhad pulled him back into the palace. "She has a knife!"

"Miss, what the hell are you doing?" Teana asked, eyes wide in surprise and fear as she slowly followed the two into the palace. "Please, don't-"

"Do you know her?" Atemu asked, doing his best to stay calm despite the circumstance.

"Y-yes." Teana started to tear up a little bit. "S-she's Knuit's mother, I don't kno-"

"Where is she?" She repeated. "I don't care who you are, little Pharaoh, if you don't give me my daughter back, I'll slice you open right here and live with the consequences."

"You so much as draw my blood and you won't be living with anything." Atemu spat back, which drew another push with the knife.

"I know you have her." Slowly, Atemu turned his head around to look at this mystery woman. Suhad looked quite a lot like her daughter, same foreign strange pale skin and blonde hair. Her features, however, were currently twisted into a snarl and sweat poured down her face in droves. He turned his head back around to face the stairs, where several guards had moved into view but did not dare move any closer. "I've arranged this little meeting for the last two weeks and I'm not walking away until I get my daughter back."

"Listen." Atemu said slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about. But I'm concerned for Knuit, just like you. So why don't we talk about it?"

"Anything you can tell me you can tell me right now." She hissed. "I don't give a shit what she did, she is my baby, and if you don't give her back to me, I'm taking my pound of flesh. And if you've already killed her, all the same. Do you understand me?"

"I want. To help." Atemu continued, in a soothing voice he was surprised he was capable of at this moment. "But I can not talk to you while you're digging a knife into my back."

"Well, it's time for you to make some concessions then!" She spat into his ear, the guards slowly forming a perimeter around the trio but avoiding getting too close.

"Miss, please!" Teana asked, tears now pouring from her eyes as she attempted to keep her composure. "You...you can't, he wouldn't-"

"Miss Suhad." Atemu took a deep, calming breath. "You're in a lot a trouble. You're threatening my life, making demands of me, and not obeying my commands, on top of you breaking into the palace in the first place. You're looking at a sentence involving eternal pain and suffering in the deepest, darkest corner of my dungeons right now. I can understand how it feels to lose a child. I understand your pain. If you want any chance at clemency, I need you to let me go right now. If you kill me, you'll never see your daughter again, and will spent the rest of your very short life in agonizing pain. If you insist on continuing to threaten me, your reunion with your daughter will be very short. Put the knife down, right now. I don't know what you think I did to your daughter, but I think we need to talk about this."

The room held still for several seconds. "You swear you'll help me." She whispered. "You swear you'll bring her back to me."

"Let me go, and I'll use every resource at my command to find your daughter." Atemu said. Slowly, he felt the blade leave his back, and the grip on the back of his suit loosen. He turned around to face Suhad, looking her heaving figure up and down. Finally, she let the small dagger clatter to the floor.

"Thank you." Atemu said. In a flash, he reached his right hand down toward his belt and flipped out a small silver blade the size of his thumb. Before anyone had a split second to react, he flashed it across the throat of Suhad, slicing a clean cut through her neck. His arm came to a stop by his head, loosening his grip on the tiny cutting tool and letting it too fall to the floor a few inches from his feet.

She gasped for breath, trying to raise her hands toward her bleeding wound, but simply fell to her knees as the thick red liquid rushed from her body into a pool on the floor. Atemu took a few steps back, away from the rush of blood. She fell down face first into the pool of her own creation, heaving loudly and uselessly trying to claw at her neck.

Atemu simply snapped his fingers and pointed at the mess while looking at one of the guards. They all immediately stepped forward toward the bloody scene. Atemu stepped back over to Teana, taking her right hand in his left. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She took a deep breath and used her left hand to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "Oh...ohmigod...yes, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know she...I had no idea, I swear I didn't, she always seemed so nice."

Atemu began to guide her around the carnage as the guards picked her body up and began to haul it away while others had gone off to collect cleaning tools for the pool of blood. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Atemu said in a monotone as he swept past them toward the dining room.

"Oh...I-I understand. You...well, you're you, she's a complete lunatic!" Teana exclaimed, looking back with a final glimpse as the gory scene as Atemu guided her down the hallway to the right. "Coming into the palace, threatening the Pharaoh...I understand, it's complete madness!"

She continued to babble as a silent Atemu guided her up a set of stairs. "What was she even saying? She didn't know where Knuit was...I mean, she was blaming you. I don't understand where she could have gotten such a wild idea from!" Atemu guided them down yet another hall, past a series of bronze doors in the light grey wall. "But...well, Knuit wasn't there at my wedding." Teana trailed off wistfully. "It is strange...we don't know where she is, her mother didn't...where else could she be?" Atemu opened a silver door near the end of the hall, still guiding her by holding her hand as he took her through a large room loaded with bookcases and desks. "We're going to find her, right?"

Another silver door awaited them on the left side of the room from the entrance. Atemu led her through it, revealing a massive, opulent bedroom, complete with a bed of silk sheets big enough for ten people, a door that led to a bathroom of golden sinks and bathtubs, a single bookshelf lined with some of the most well known manuscripts of all time, and many decorations that indicated great wealth. Teana went to go sit on this large bed, kicking her sandals off and laying back.

"Oh...what a day!" She exclaimed. "I need to get out of this dress!" Atemu had gone to the massive, spotless window that looked out upon the front court of the palace, at the slowly dispersing crowd. A small box was to the right of his feet. He bent down and removed a clean crystal glass and a small bottle of a yellow liquid. He poured half of it into the glass and began to drink from it. "Atemu, honey, where should we start looking?"

Atemu sighed deeply. "I didn't want to tell you before the wedding. Spoil your mood." He said quietly, turning around to face her as she sat up, eyes fixed on him. "Knuit...was not who she claimed. She was an insider for the Israelis, giving them information and trying to arrange for their victory. She leaked information about my father's death. I had forgotten, I had just ordered her to leave the room before I told you about my father. She must have heard."

"Oh..." Teana put her head in her cupped hands. "Oh my god...I...I'm so, so sorry. She was here because of me, I invited her-"

"I don't blame you in the slightest." Atemu comforted, still on the opposite side of the room. "She was targetted because of her relationship to you specifically after your relationship with me became apparent." He took another drink from the glass.

Teana looked up from her hands. "She wouldn't do something like this willingly. They must have blackmailed her, made her, she's a really sweet girl! I've known her a long time, they must have...done something horrible!" She jumped up and ran over to Atemu, hands clasped in front of her chest. "Please, when you find her, show some mercy. What she did was horrible, but I know she wouldn't have done it if she didn't have to. She's my friend, and she's a good person, please give me the chance to talk to her and let the whole truth come out."

Atemu stared deep into her blue eyes for several seconds, before turning away to look back out the window. "That won't be necessary." He said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Teana asked, hands falling to her side.

"She's long gone from here, I'm sure." Atemu answered shortly, drinking again. "We won't be seeing her again."

"What...you mean she ran away?" Teana blinked twice. "You have this whole place locked down and secured! She couldn't leave Egypt if she wanted! She couldn't even leave the palace without permission. She's still here, we just have to find her."

"She's not here." Atemu insisted, holding his hand up beside his head as he looked down at the mass of people. "We should forget about it."

"No, she has to be-" she took a deep breath, looking Atemu up and down slowly. "She said you had her." She said carefully. "Thought you might have killed her." Atemu turned his head to glance at her before turning back to the window. "Atemu. You know as well as I do she couldn't have left Egypt without us knowing."

"Don't ask me about Pharaoh business." Atemu replied shortly, not taking his eyes off the scene outside.

"I am your wife, and she was my friend. Was Suhad telling the truth?" She said stonily, staring at the back of Atemu's head. "Do you have her?"

"You've entered this palace through marriage, not blood." Atemu said. "The affairs of the Pharaoh do not concern you, they are not your burden to bear."

"Atemu. I am asking you to tell me if you have Knuit or not." Teana said again, still glaring at the back of his head.

"The burdens of my reign are not to be shared with mortals." Atemu replied, still looking out the window. "You are here because I have selected you to enjoy the benefits of a royal life, the decisions and choices are mine alone, I descend from the Gods so I can handle them. Do not try to take them on."

"Goddammit, Atemu!" Teana shouted, stamping her foot down. "Did you kill her? Is she dead? Talk to me!"

"ENOUGH!" Atemu roared, spinning around and slamming the mostly empty glass into the ground. It shattered, shards flying in all directions, remaining drink splattering into the carpet and soaking into it.

Teana looked at the broken glass, then back up to Atemu, fear in her eyes as she took half a step back. Atemu glared at her for a few seconds, then turned to look toward the door to the bathroom across from him.

"Alright." He finally said. "This one time. This one time, you can know. But from this day on, remember that the business of Egyptian royalty is difficult and dirty, to be handled by those chosen by the Gods, and the affairs of me are not your concern. This one time, you can ask about my affairs."

Teana took a steadying breath. "Atemu. Did you have Knuit killed?"

Atemu shook his head. "No." He said. "I didn't have Knuit killed."

"Oh." She took a big sigh of relief. "Well, we have to find her then, she has to be in Egypt-"

"When I discovered her subterfuge, I sent men to collect her." Atemu continued. "She had already left the palace by that time. She managed to get to the docks. They chased her there. She stole a small boat and tried to presumably cross the red sea. They caught up to her. She had tied the steel anchor to her foot. Right before they took her, she apologized and threw the anchor into the sea. She went down with it. She could not have survived, and we can't recover the body."

"Oh." Teana muttered, moving back towards the bed. "Oh...oh my-" She laid back heavily.

"The shame of her actions were too much. She chose suicide over facing me. No doubt she didn't want anyone to get ahold of her body as well, fearful of the curses we could place on it, so she sunk herself many thousand feet under the sea." He nodded. "I am sorry, I tried to bring her in. I know she would not have done what she did unless she was coerced."

She nodded, then put her hands back on her face. "I really can't believe it."

"The Israelis went after her after your relationship with me developed, as I said. It was not your fault at all, they would have gone after the friend of any woman I took a liking to." Atemu waved his hand dismissively.

"Well...she did a horrible thing, maybe it's better this way. I've heard drowning is painless, after all." Teana reasoned. "I'll be okay."

Atemu went up to her, holding the other half of the bottle. "Here. It's a traditional drink after weddings." He explained. She took it, looking at it closely. "You could probably use a drink."

Disregarding the glass, she popped the cork out of the top and began draining the contents into her mouth. Just then, a knock at the door, causing the new couple to look at the silver barrier. "Enter." Atemu called.

Seto and Isis entered, bowing deeply to the pairing. Atemu waved them in.

"Congratulations, Pharoah Atemu." Seto said.

"A most wonderful ceremony." Isis followed up.

"Thank you." Atemu held his hands out to the pair. "Well?"

Seto cleared his throat. "The reports are in from all stations." He held his hands behind his back respectfully and stood up straight. "Estimates are nine hundred thousand enemy deaths total. All stations reported a full on and scattered retreat before anyone even got to the wall. Casualties at zero."

Atemu smiled. "Wonderful."

Isis grunted. "There's no question. David and Michael have been successfully assassinated. One shot through the neck, the other in the chest, neither survived in time for medical treatment, we have multiple reliable reports. The status of our assassin is unknown."

Atemu nodded. "And?"

Seto glanced at Teana, sitting on the bed, still sucking down the contents of the small bottle. "Of course."

"Very good." Atemu looked over at Teana as she finished off the drink.

She winced hard. "It's something else!" She exclaimed. "Oh, man, what a day."

"Seto, have the soldiers reconvene at the barracks and prepare to move out." Atemu instructed, drawing a flinch from his two priests.

"Move out, sir?" Seto repeated. "If I may, Pharaoh, the battle is won. They won't attack us again, and if they do, it makes more sense to be ready for another defense that's a guaranteed success as just displayed."

"I know." Atemu said, looking straight at Seto. "We survived."

"Yes sir, we did." Seto confirmed. "So-"

"Now is the time to strike." Atemu interrupted. "We have the most advanced military technology in the world and have just landed a deathly strike against every surrounding nation's army. While they retreat wildly back, still not quite sure what incredible weaponry brought their easy demise, now is the time for...aggressive expansion."

"Your word is the final one, sir, but I feel it is my duty to point out that our own soldier crops have been depleted and the nation will still be unstable for some time as they recover from this extended-" Seto began but was again cut off.

"I don't need great numbers. My new weapon is all I need. Tell the soldiers to march forth beyond Egyptian borders. March to the cities of other nations, drive the citizens from their beds in the night, and take the territory under the flag of Egypt. Tell them to utilize their new technology to capture new land for this empire, that is all they need." Atemu continued, as Teana, Isis and Seto all came to stare at him.

"I must confess, that I don't totally understand." Seto finally said after a several second pause.

"This was about survival." Atemu said. "Defense. Living. Now, it's time for revenge." He said, stepping forward to stand right in front of Seto. "These men have attacked our borders for many months, sided against us in this war...and they are the reason my father is dead." He put his hands up on Seto's shoulders. "They sided with my father's murderers, they fought for them, they killed him as much as they did. This, I can not forgive. Not ever. So long as we hold a military advantage, we'll raid and ransack their lands until there's nothing left."

Seto nodded. "Very well sir." He swallowed hard, backed off a few steps, bowed, and left the room.

"Isis, remember the man on my birthday? The one who was arrested for looking on you with impure thoughts?" Atemu asked, leaving several seconds of silence as Isis struggled to remember.

"...yes! Yes, sir, I do." She said finally.

"Schedule his execution for tomorrow." Atemu finally said. "I...I understand now."

"You're quite sure?" Isis asked.

"Yes. It was, in a way, my father's final command given as Pharaoh." Atemu looked over at Teana, still sitting up on the bed, legs now folded in front of her. Isis took the opportunity to quickly bow and excuse herself from the room.

"Well, I'm exhausted." Teana started as Atemu started to move toward the door himself. "I'm gonna catch some sleep as soon as I get out of this dress, you should get some too. You've had a long hard day."

Atemu was at the door, looking back at her again. He extended his hand to open the door, twisting the knob in his hands. It silently opened back into the other wing of the bedroom, reserved for business. He continued to look at her, expression unreadable, as he slowly stepped through the threshhold.

"I mean...well, if you've got things to do, I...I..." she trailed off as Atemu slowly shut the door behind him, staring at her the whole way as the opening into the other room was slowly cut off.

She laid back slowly, uneasily.

It had happened.

Less than a year ago, he had talked, bragged even.

He'd be different. A new breed of Pharaoh, that only wanted to have peace and fun.

A Pharaoh that the people would love and adore for his kindness and personality.

It appealed to her, she liked to hear him talk about it.

It sounded like fun. She couldn't wait.

Maybe they all talked like that at one point, and it never came to pass.

Life happened, people grew up...was that it?

Either way, it had happened.

Over the past few months, at some point, Atemu had truly become The Pharaoh.

""""

That's my story! There is a sequel coming, I don't know if I will continue it on this story or start another one, but it's a direct sequel to this one. I don't know when it will happen but I'll probably at least start on it soon. Hope you enjoyed reading!


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